FALLUJA WOMEN: PAINFUL STRUGGLES FOR IRAQI WOMEN

Since April 2003, and until February 2008, "At least 5000 cases of widowed women have been registered at Falluja Employment Center," Abdul-Fatah revealed to VOI. "Those widowed women earn no salaries, and the majority of them are experiencing extremely hard circumstances, and they are in a massive need of any kind of help." He demanded that the Iraqi government and parliament "consider treating this issue thoroughly as an outcome of wars, and to legislate laws that sponsor widowed women in Falluja and elsewhere in Iraq."

LIFE FOR WOMEN OF FALLUJA, IRAQ IS FILLED WITH PAIN AND MISERY

Anbar - Voices of Iraq
Thursday , 28 /02 /2008 Time 3:04:43

http://tinyurl.com/ytf85d


Falluja, Feb. 28, (VOI) – Abu Waleed had a bad rendezvous with destiny; he lost his two legs in an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) attack in Falluja, and his wife – Um Waleed, suddenly found herself responsible for providing her family’s daily requirements. She worked hard toward her education degree during afternoon classes at Falluja Education Institute, and graduated as quickly as possible to start a career as a school teacher in Falluja, that nowadays offers her a monthly salary essential for her family's life to continue.

There are other women like Um Waleed; victims of the difficult circumstances that Falluja city has experienced.

The number of women in Falluja that were widowed after 2003 is at least 5000.

These figures imply that since April 2003 until February 2008, 86 women a month (almost 3 women a day) were widowed, according to a recent survey conducted by the Employment Center in the city in coordination with Falluja’s City Council. "My husband was a taxi driver, and due to an IED explosion, he lost his two legs, and his car was totally devastated; thus we lost all our sources of living in that incident," Um Waleed told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI), adding "It was my turn to be responsible for my family's living; the situation was rigid, but I did not step aside watching. In addition to having four kids going to school, I joined afternoon classes at the Falluja Education Institute where I earned the degree that enabled me to work as a school teacher."

In a religious – tribally structured society like Falluja, the nightmare for any women is when she does not find an adult man capable of providing her with the required simple daily life necessities. "I lost two of my sons during Falluja Battle II, while unknown gunmen killed my third son," Um Ibrahim (55 years) told VOI. "After losing my three sons, I feel that I am alone in this country under very hard living circumstances, with my daughters in law, and grandsons…I knocked on the doors of social affairs governmental managements, asking for any help, even for one dinar, but I have gotten nothing."Um Ahmed, 41 years, is another Falluja woman. "During Falluja Battle II, my husband was killed by U.S. army fire on November 2004, and since then, I have not been able to find anyone to help me and my kids," Um Ahmed said to VOI. "Three years after my husband's death, neither the local authorities in Falluja, nor central government in Baghdad, offered any kind of help to my family. I received simple aid that did not cover a tangible part of my five kids' living requirements from some humanitarian organizations." She continued, "I am getting older, and my health is no longer helping me to work as before; that's why I became unable to pay my house’s rent, and currently, I am spending my life with my kids moving between our relatives' houses."From his side, Ali Ghazal, head of follow-up and coordination department at Al-Kher Charity Association in Falluja, told VOI "

After the occupation, battles and violence created a vast amount of widowed women that live in the city under very bad conditions," adding "for this reason, we formed Al-Kher Charity Association to provide any possible assistance to widowed women in Falluja. Our role does not exceed delivering and distributing aids, such as foodstuff, clothes, and others, supplied by other humanitarian organizations to widowed women in Falluja." Ghazal supplicated international organizations and associations, interested in women issues, to assist widowed women in Falluja that have no one to help them. Attorney Sabah al-Alwani, a member of Falluja’s City Council, said to VOI

"The number of widowed women that we have in Falluja these days is unprecedented, and may have negative future effects on the moral attitudes of Falluja society," explaining "in case the Iraqi government ignores this social component, some families might collapse entirely, and engendered losses will be overburdened. Falluja City Council received no aid from the Iraqi government for these widowed women, and taking care of them has become a very heavy burden on the council, but the only thing that we can do is to urge humanitarian organizations to help them, especially when considering that the majority of widowed women in Falluja are unable to work for different reasons…We demand that the Iraqi government to prepare a program to assist women in Falluja."Kawakib al-Dulaimi, a member of Falluja’s City Council, describes the role of the Iraqi authorities in assisting Falluja women and widows as absent and disabled. "Battles in Falluja city, that took place between the U.S. army and different armed groups, engendered many widowed women, but the Iraqi government did not aid them with even one dinar," al-Dulaimi said to VOI.

"Battles continue to generate widowed and orphaned women that have no other option but to face the hard line of life alone."Falluja Employment Center embraces the noble aim of attempting to sponsor women in general in the city, and particularly widowed and orphaned women. "We, at Falluja City Council, have established an employment center that is devoted to women that lost their husbands, fathers, and brothers in battles that took place in Falluja exclusively. Depending on City Councils' individual initiatives, this center succeeded in enrolling 200 of Falluja’s widowed women in dressmaking training programs," asserting "better skills will help these women to earn their living."

Adnan Abdul-Fatah, manager of the Employment Center in Falluja, said to VOI, "The number of widowed women is continuously increasing in Falluja, and we are unable to provide them with the proper assistance due to different reasons." He added, "The real problem is that social – care management is absent in Falluja city. The main role of that management is to obtain statistics and to build a detailed database regarding widowed women, or any other category of women that require assistance; a matter that negatively affects our aid efforts. We formed committees, in coordination with Falluja’s City Council, to prepare accurate statistics concerning widowed women in the city as a first step toward ensuring them their rights from the Iraqi Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.

U.S. PATROL "MISTAKENLY" KILLS IRAQI CIVILIAN

The US troops in Iraq have shot dead a civilian who approached their patrol near the town of Miqdadiya, north of Baghdad, the military said.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7268645.stm

One report quoting the military said it the man had a cast on his broken arm under his jacket, which troops had mistaken for an explosives vest
.
He had ignored instructions to stop and a warning shot, the military said.

There have been a series of bomb attacks in the Muqdadiyah area, which the US has blamed on al-Qaeda in Iraq.

Iraqi police said the man was elderly, hard of hearing and suffering from mental disabilities, although the US military could not confirm this.

"There was nothing suspicious found on him but the incident is under investigation," said military spokesman Maj Brad Leighton.

"It was a mistake... an unfortunate incident," he added.

THOUSANDS OF IRAQI NEIGHBORHOOD POLICE UNITS STOP WORK IN DIYALA PROVINCE

In another major blow to the peace efforts of the United States in Iraq, thousands of members of neighborhood police units in Dyala Province, one of the most dangerous provinces in Iraq, have disbanded.

The story is developling so stay tuned to this blog because you will never read about it or hear about the serious ramifications of the walkout in the mainstream media of the United States.

Diyala Prv:#1: Thousands of members of neighborhood police units have stopped work in one of Iraq's most dangerous provinces, Iraqi and U.S. military officials said on Friday. The mainly Sunni Arab units, widely known as concerned local citizens, or "CLCs", said they had disbanded altogether which would represent a major blow to U.S. and Iraqi efforts to pacify Diyala province.

Elsewhere in Iraq and Afghanistan, there have been more U.S. military casualties:

Lance Corporal Robert Reid was on patrol in an armoured vehicle with three colleagues near their base in Basra when it came under attack and has been left blind in one eye following a roadside bomb attack in southern Iraq. The 24-year-old, of Galashiels, Selkirkshire, suffered multiple injuries in the ensuing gun battle.

A recreational dodgeball game turned serious at Manas Air Base, Kyrgyzstan, when an airman suffered a heart attack. Airman 1st Class James Garrett, 19, collapsed Monday during the game. Doctors at Manas found that Garrett showed signs of sudden cardiac arrest, but he was stabilized. Garrett was flown to Landstuhl Army Regional Medical Center, Germany, on Tuesday for further care.

Capt Nick Binnington, 30, suffered a horrific leg wounds from a Taliban ambush attack after it was revealed a rocket propelled grenade attack in occupied Afghanistan had left him on the emergency operating table with a shard of metal lodged in his right thigh. He was deployed in Afghanistan for six months last year as a forward air controller guiding in all allied airpower. He was injured in a Taliban ambush north east of Garesh and had to be flown back to the UK to be operated on.

Victoria Scuola-Brandt, 56, was injured during mortar attacks in Balad, Iraq. But the disabled veteran said she is constantly reliving the shelling in her mind and thinks often about her military brothers and sisters still serving in Iraq. For Scuola-Brandt the mortar attack in January 2006 remains a vivid nightmare. At the time, she was a first sergeant with the Army Reserve and was working in an area that was attacked about five times a day. "I was running for cover, and I injured my feet," she recalled. She said what affected her more was seeing a fellow first sergeant go blind. Scuola-Brandt was flown to Landstuhl, Germany, and then to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. She eventually was sent to Fort Bliss, Texas, where she received a medical discharge on Oct. 25, 2006.

Spc. Chuck Naylor, 22, was in an Afghanistan hospital, his ears still ringing from an explosion that hit his convoy of South Glens Falls, were injured when a suicide bomber destroyed a truck. It was unclear Thursday if the men were in the truck at the time. The force of the blast knocked the men to the ground, giving Naylor a concussion.

Sgt. Jeff Dorvee, 25, both of South Glens Falls, were injured when a suicide bomber destroyed a truck. It was unclear Thursday if the men were in the truck at the time. The force of the blast knocked the men to the ground. Dorvee lost hearing in his right ear. It was not known Thursday if the damage is permanent.

Violence, mayhem and chaos continues all across Iraq as the media in the United States acts as if nothing is happening in Iraq worth reporting.


War News for Friday, February 29, 2008
Baghdad:#1: Around 7:40 a.m., a roadside bomb targeted a police commando’s patrol at the Meshtal intersection near New Baghdad neighborhood (east Baghdad).Two policemen were injured in that incident.2: Around 10 a.m., a bomb house exploded when the Iraqi army raided it at Abu Khamees village (10 km south of Baquba) .One Iraqi soldier was killed in that explosion.

Baquba:#1: The commander of the popular committees in Diala province survived an attempt on his life in central Baaquba district on Friday morning, an official source said. "An armed group attacked on Friday a headquarters of the popular committees in al-Tahrir neighborhood, central Baaquba, targeting commander Sabah Bashir, who survived unscathed," the source, who did not want to be named, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq

#2: An Iraqi army soldier was injured on Friday during a security operation in south of Baaquba, an official security source said. "A force from the 5th division of the Iraqi army waged a crackdown operation in Abu Khamis village in Bahraz district, south of Baaquba," the source, requested anonymity, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq (VOI). "The forces came under armed group fire attack, during which one soldier was wounded," he added.

Hawija:#1: In the morning, police found Ahmed Khalaf’s body, the Hawija council member, who was kidnapped few days ago by gunmen .Police arrested four suspected to be involved in that kidnap and murder.Kirkuk:#1: In the morning, police found a female dead body whose name is Sameea Sofi near the Zab Bridge (west of Kirkukk).

Mosul:#1: Gunmen kidnapped the Chaldean Catholic Archbishop of Mosul on Friday from the northern Iraqi city and killed his driver and two companions, police said. "He was kidnapped in the al-Nour district in eastern Mosul when he left a church. Gunmen opened fire on the car, killed the other three and kidnapped the archbishop," a Mosul police official said.

#2: A man and his son were killed in a roadside bomb explosion in Mosul on Friday, the official spokesman for the Ninewa operations said. "An improvised explosive device went off targeting a U.S. vehicle patrol near al-Dhubat district, eastern Mosul, killing a passing man and his 11-year-old son," Brig. Khalid Abdul Sattar told Aswat al-Iraq-Voices of Iraq

#3: Police patrols found two bodies of a prosecutor and a lawyer handcuffed and riddled with bullets in Al-Qahira district, northern Mosul." Brig. Khalid Abdul Sattar told Aswat al-Iraq-Voices of Iraq (VOI).The security official identified "the prosecutor as Abd Jassim Hanash al-Janabi and the lawyer as Hamad Sultan al-Louizi". "They were abducted by unknown gunmen near al-Maaridh area, eastern Mosul, on Friday morning", he added.

Even with all of this happening in Iraq and Afghanistan, President Bush and his mouthpiece, FOX NEWS, continue to mislead the American public with lies about how well things are going in Iraq and Afghanistan.

BREAKING NEWS: BILL TO CUT FUNDING FOR WAR IN IRAQ DIES IN THE SENATE

The war in Iraq will continue you indefinitely because the Senate pulled a bill that would have cut off funding for most combat operations in Iraq.

The Democrats knew they didn't have the votes to pass the measure so they pulled the bill.

Even had the bill passed in the Senate, President Bush had vowed to veto it.

Brief Iraq Withdrawal Hopes Fizzle

By Maya Schenwar t r u t h o u t Report

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/022908Q.shtml

Friday 29 February 2008

A bill to cut off funding for most combat operations in Iraq collapsed in the Senate Wednesday night when leadership pulled it from the floor, seeing it could not garner enough votes for passage.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid acknowledged to reporters on Thursday afternoon the bill would not be brought to a vote. However, it did pass a cloture vote on Tuesday after a decision by Republican leadership to address the war controversy head-on, making this week's debate the longest Iraq-based discussion the Senate floor has seen since July.

Sponsored by Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin), the bill marked a shift away from antiwar Democrats' previous focus on setting a deadline for troop withdrawal, according to Feingold's spokesman.

Instead, it would have restricted war spending substantially, confining it to targeted missions against al-Qaeda and affiliated groups, in addition to training Iraqi forces and protecting American personnel and facilities in Iraq. Funding cuts would have begun within 120 days - a monumental change in course for Iraq policy.

Yet, most analysts agree the purpose of the latest bill was not to end the war since sponsors knew, based on precedent, it would fail overwhelmingly in the Senate - and, if it didn't, would be vetoed automatically by President Bush. The last time Feingold proposed similar legislation, about half of Senate Democrats voted against it.

"Leadership knew it wouldn't pass, as almost all of the Republicans could be counted on to oppose it," said Jack Swetland, manager of Congressional affairs at the Center for American Progress.

He added that Feingold's three similar troop withdrawal proposals introduced over the past few months have failed.

The Feingold plan's proponents hoped to "create a vote which could be used against Republicans in the fall election," according to Voices for Creative Nonviolence co-coordinator Jeff Leys.

Click on link to read full story...

MARINES HALT ORDER FOR NEW PROTECTIVE VEST BECAUSE THEY ARE TOO HEAVY

The top commander of the United States Marine Corps, General James Conway, has ordered a halt for the remaining orders of a new vest for combat troops in Iraq and Afghanistan because it was found to be too heavy.

Known as the Modular Tactical Vest (MTV), Conway said Marines in the filed were complaining the vest was too heavy and cumbersome.

The Corps placed orders for 84,000 MTVs in late 2006, to replace the standard-issue Outer Tactical Vest. Of that initial order, the service has received 76,000, Johnson said.The future of those already-issued vests remains unclear.

The foul up with the vest is similar to the problems the military had when the new heavily armor-plated Humvees were found to be unsafe and could easily rollover.

A source close to the Pentagon said more field tests of the vest should have been conducted before the Marine Corps ordered 84,000 or the vests including the 70,000 that have already been delivered to U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.


Conway puts orders of new vest on hold

By Kimberly Johnson - Staff writer Posted : Friday Feb 29, 2008 6:38:01 EST

http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/02/marine_vest_022708/

The Corps’ top officer has halted remaining orders of the service’s new Modular Tactical Vest amid complaints the gear is too heavy and cumbersome.

Commandant Gen. James Conway “has stopped the execution for the next buy of the MTV after his personal evaluation,” said Lt. Col. T.V. Johnson, Conway’s spokesman.

During a recent visit with Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan, Conway openly questioned the suitability of the vest, distinctive with its over-the-head, slip-on design and quick-release pull cord, Johnson said in a phone interview Wednesday.

“It has some advantages. It also has some disadvantages, especially if you’re putting it on and taking it off a lot.” Conway told Marine Corps Times in December, during an interview at his Pentagon office. “It doesn’t go on or come off easy.”

Marines who have not worn it before tend to like it the first time they put it on, Conway said.
“It rides well,” he said. “The hips do absorb some of the weight. It doesn’t seem that heavy once you get it on. But it will rip your nose or your ears off if you’re not careful when you put it on or take it off.”

The MTV design was initially selected in early 2006 based on the recommendations made by a group of 100 Marines with Iraq combat experience, who tested three different vests, Johnson said. The group overwhelmingly selected the MTV at 89 percent, he said.

The Corps placed orders for 84,000 MTVs in late 2006, to replace the standard-issue Outer Tactical Vest. Of that initial order, the service has received 76,000, Johnson said.
The future of those already-issued vests remains unclear.

“I don’t foresee a recall,” Johnson said. “They are working some actions to mitigate the complaints about the vest.”

The comments coming out of the field from Marines are related more to comfort than effectiveness and levels of protection, Johnson said.

“There will be some assessments made at the very senior-officer level, and those discussions will determine the best way ahead,” he said. “Even without these criticisms, they’re already looking at what the next-generation personal protective equipment might be.”

ANGELINA JOLIE YOUTUBE VIDEO MEETING WITH GEN. PETRAEUS IN IRAQ

Angelina Jolie recently went to Baghdad on a humanitarian mission for the UN. During her visit, she dined with U.S. soldiers stationed in Iraq and she met with General David Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq.

Jolie wrote a piece for the Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/27/AR2008022702217.html?nav=hcmodule where she expresses her feelings about "the surge" and how she feels the United States should stay in Iraq to help with the refugee crisis that grips Iraq.

Jolie can be seen here in this YouTube video meeting with Gen. Petraeus and dining with U.S. troops in Baghdad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MN2IGr-ogpI

ANGELINA JOLIE SAYS U.S. SHOULD STAY IN IRAQ

Angelina Jolie brought her incredible star power to Iraq a few weeks ago as part of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and the result was she became an instant hit with bloggers all over the world when she sat down to eat with the U.S. troops inside Camp Victory in Baghdad.

According to the Washington Post's Thusday edition, Jolie has decided the United States military should stay in Iraq for the time being.

Jolie plans to to continue her efforts to help the thousands of displaced Iraqi citizens.

Jolie has penned her own account of what her thoughts are about Iraq and the refugee crisis that grips the nation.

You can read her story here...


Angelina Jolie staying to Help in Iraq

"We have finally reached a point where humanitarian assistance, from us and others, can have an impact."

By Angelina JolieThursday, February 28, 2008; 1:15 PM

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/27/AR2008022702217_pf.html

The request is familiar to American ears: "Bring them home."

But in Iraq, where I've just met with American and Iraqi leaders, the phrase carries a different meaning. It does not refer to the departure of U.S. troops, but to the return of the millions of innocent Iraqis who have been driven out of their homes and, in many cases, out of the country.

In the six months since my previous visit to Iraq with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, this humanitarian crisis has not improved. However, during the last week, the United States, UNHCR and the Iraqi government have begun to work together in new and important ways.

We still don't know exactly how many Iraqis have fled their homes, where they've all gone, or how they're managing to survive. Here is what we do know: More than 2 million people are refugees inside their own country -- without homes, jobs and, to a terrible degree, without medicine, food or clean water.

Ethnic cleansing and other acts of unspeakable violence have driven them into a vast and very dangerous no-man's land. Many of the survivors huddle in mosques, in abandoned buildings with no electricity, in tents or in one-room huts made of straw and mud.

Fifty-eight percent of these internally displaced people are younger than 12 years old.

An additional 2.5 million Iraqis have sought refuge outside Iraq, mainly in Syria and Jordan. But those host countries have reached their limits. Overwhelmed by the refugees they already have, these countries have essentially closed their borders until the international community provides support.

Click on link above to read the full story by Angelina Jolie from Iraq.

BREAKING NEWS: U.S. SENDING THREE WARSHIPS TO EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN

Citizens for a Legitimate Government (CLG) http://www.legitgov.org/ announced late Thursday on their web site that the United States is sending three warships into the waters in the Eastern Mediterranean as a show of strength against Syria.

Admiral Michael Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the move should not be construed as "saber rattling" by the United States, but simply a way of showing the United States interest in the region.

US Send Warships to Eastern Med

Thursday February 28 2008
By ANNE GEARAN and ROBERT BURNS
Associated Press Writers

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/7345617

WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. Navy is sending three warships to the eastern Mediterranean Sea in a show of strength during a period of tensions with Syria and political uncertainty in Lebanon.

Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters the deployment should not be viewed as threatening or in response to events in any single country in that volatile region.

``This is an area that is important to us, the eastern Med,'' he said when asked about news reports of the ship movements. ``It's a group of ships that will operate in the vicinity there for a while,'' adding that ``it isn't meant to send any stronger signals than that. But it does signal that we're engaged, we're going to be in the vicinity and that's a very, very important part of the world.''

Another military officer, speaking on condition of anonymity because full details about the ship movements are not yet public, said a Navy destroyer, the USS Cole, was headed for patrol in the eastern Mediterranean and that the USS Nassau, an amphibious warship, would be joining it shortly.

The officer said a third ship would go later, but he did not identify it.

FALLUJA "AWAKENING COUNCIL" INFILTRATED BY AL QAEDA IN IRAQ

Only recently President Bush and his public relations mouthpiece, FOX NEWS, were claiming Falluja should be considered a model of how well "the surge" has been working in Iraq.

However, now the Voices of Iraq is reporting the Falluja Awakening Council has been infiltrated by Al Qaeda in still another display of just how tenuous conditions are in Iraq.

As usual, the mainstream media in the United States has fallen silent on the latest developments out of Falluja.

Falluja Awakening Council infiltrated by al-Qaeda

Anbar - Voices of Iraq
Thursday , 28 /02 /2008 Time 6:18:34

http://tinyurl.com/28bhan

Falluja, Feb 28, (VOI)- The Falluja Awakening Council fighters are being infiltrated by al-Qaeda elements, the chief of local police said on Wednesday.

“The Awakening Council fighters in the city of Falluja are being infiltrated by al-Qaeda elements, mainly in the city’s districts,” Brigadier Faisal al-Zawbaie told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq (VOI).“Police forces and the Awakening Council fighters came under several armed attacks during the past two months because of the security infiltrations inside the council’s fighters,” he explained.

He called on the Awakening Councils to coordinate with Iraqi security forces, mainly in providing them with accurate information on their new fighters.

The Awakening Councils are anti-Qaeda fighters working in coordination with the Multi-National Force-Iraq (MNF-I) and the Iraqi government.Falluja, Anbar province, is 45 km west of Baghdad.

AN IRAQI CITY THAT HAS LOST ALL HOPE

The media doesn't want to report on what is really happening in Iraq, but Dahr Jamail has been the solid voice of what is taking place in Iraq since the United States invaded and occupied Iraq in 2003.

This is just another behind-the-scenes look at an Iraqi city, Baquba, devastated by war and with no hope of anything ever returning to normal.

Why is it the mainstream media in the United States refuses to report on events like this? The answer is the mainstream media in the United States doesn't care about Iraq anymore even though there are 160,000 brave young American men and women deployed to Iraq.

Baquba Losing Life – And Hope

Inter Press Service

By Ahmed Ali and Dahr Jamail*BAQUBA, Feb 27 (IPS) - Life has been bad enough in Diyala province north of Baghdad after prolonged violence, unemployment and loss of all forms of normal living. What could be worse now is the loss of hope that anything will ever be better.

In Baquba, capital city of Diyala province 40km northeast of Baghdad, it's all about staying alive. Most people have abandoned all projects and activities to sit at home in safety.

"The Iraqi government achieved nothing, just death for this poor province," Hadi Obeid, a now idle trader in Baquba told IPS. "If you look for rights, you will find death."

"People of this province are dead," says resident Luay Amir, who returned to Iraq in 2004 after living 16 years in Austria. "There is no sign of life to be seen. Faces are pale and lifeless, the city is desolate."

People in the city, he said, "have no ambitions, no dreams. When they see each other, they greet one another saying, 'good to see you safe'."

The lack of electricity, clean water, security and jobs is clearly taking its toll.

"People are deprived of everything in this province, and it's a miracle that life still goes on amidst this deprivation," Abdul-Ridha Noman, an employee in the directorate-general of statistics told IPS. "People here have no goal except to move from today to tomorrow."

Noman added, "But they are afraid of tomorrow because it might only bring death or loss."
Many people have fled the violence, but also the hopelessness. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, at least 1.5 million Iraqis have fled to Syria by now. Many have gone from Diyala.

"They sold their properties to live away from terror," Abdullah Mahjob, a 51-year-old schoolteacher in Baquba told IPS. "And they spent their savings to make their children safe."

Ahead of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003, people in this city had dreamed of a better future for them and their children. Now, that's a broken dream.

"Life is destroyed by the occupation and its corrupt government, and people have reached a point where nothing means anything to them any more," local dentist Mudhafer al-Janaby told IPS.

"People are concerned about electricity because they see that the children need light because of the examinations. They search for fuel for kerosene heaters in the cold winter, and for their cars," local farmer Iman Mansour told IPS.

"They are concerned how they will find medicines for the sick. They need to find work and then get to it, but there is a curfew, and the militants are everywhere. How can an individual plan for a future while surrounded by all these troubles?"

Click on link to read the full story.

SENIOR OFFICERS WORRIED ABOUT OVERSTRETCHED MILITARY DUE TO WARS IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN

Sixty percent of the officer's surveyed by Foreign Policy Magazine said the military is weaker today than it was five years ago.

In addition to the human strain, there are now widespread reports much of the equipment that has been in use in Iraq and Afghanistan for over five years is worn out and desperately in need of repair or replacement.

Senior Officers Worried About Dangerously Overstretched U.S Military

By Ali Gharib, IPS NewsPosted on February 28, 2008, Printed on February 28, 2008

http://www.alternet.org/story/77744/

WASHINGTON, Feb 19 (IPS) - The U.S. military is "severely strained" by two large-scale occupations in the Middle East, other troop deployments, and problems recruiting, according to a new survey of military officers published by Foreign Policy magazine and the centrist think-tank Center for a New American Security.

"They see a force stretched dangerously thin and a country ill-prepared for the next fight," said the report, 'The U.S. Military Index,' which polled 3,400 current and former high-level military officers.

Sixty percent of the officers surveyed said that the military is weaker now than it was five years ago, often citing the number of troops deployed to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"We ought to pay more attention to quality," said retired Lt. General Gregory Newbold, who retired from the Joint Chiefs of Staff in part over objections to the invasion of Iraq, at a panel during a conference to release the data.

From Republican presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain to President George W. Bush, politicians regularly speak on the military from a position of authority. They know, they contend, that despite the two ongoing wars, the U.S is ready to deal with new threats militarily if need be.

Click on link above to read full story.

IRAQ: RUN BY GANGS, THUGS, MILITIAS, RADICAL ISLAMISTS AND WARLORDS

There is a myth floating around the United States that started with the Bush White House and has been promoted by the Bush White House propaganda mouthpiece, FOX NEWS, that the U.S. military brought down violence in Baghdad and Falluja with the much touted "surge," but in reality it was the warlords in both cities who got together and ran Al Qaeda out of each city.

The news looks good on the surface, but in truth Iraq is now run by militias, gangs, thugs, radical Islamists and warlords and the United States is caught in the middle of supporting all of them with money and guns.

The media in the United States is obsessed with the race for the White House, but there is a growing concern by many insiders who feel Iraq is about to explode again in sectarian violence.

The story below is a perfect example of what has been taking place in Iraq and what looms on the horizon.

Commentary by Bill Corcoran, editor of CORKSPHERE.


Iraq: The Calm Before the Conflagration

By Chris Hedges, TruthdigPosted on February 27, 2008, Printed on February 28, 2008

http://www.alternet.org/story/77873/

The United States is funding and in many cases arming the three ethnic factions in Iraq -- the Kurds, the Shiites and the Sunni Arabs.

These factions rule over partitioned patches of Iraqi territory and brutally purge rival ethnic groups from their midst. Iraq no longer exists as a unified state. It is a series of heavily armed fiefdoms run by thugs, gangs, militias, radical Islamists and warlords who are often paid wages of $300 a month by the U.S. military.

Iraq is Yugoslavia before the storm. It is a caldron of weapons, lawlessness, hate and criminality that is destined to implode. And the current U.S. policy, born of desperation and defeat, means that when Iraq goes up, the U.S. military will have to scurry like rats for cover.

The supporters of the war, from the Bush White House to Sen. John McCain, tout the surge as the magic solution. But the surge, which primarily deployed 30,000 troops in and around Baghdad, did little to thwart the sectarian violence. The decline in attacks began only when we bought off the Sunni Arabs. U.S. commanders in the bleak fall of 2006 had little choice. It was that or defeat. The steady rise in U.S. casualties, the massive car bombs that tore apart city squares in Baghdad and left hundreds dead, the brutal ethnic cleansing that was creating independent ethnic enclaves beyond our control throughout Iraq, the death squads that carried out mass executions and a central government that was as corrupt as it was impotent signaled catastrophic failure.

The United States cut a deal with its Sunni Arab enemies. It would pay the former insurgents. It would allow them to arm and form military units and give them control of their ethnic enclaves. The Sunni Arabs, in exchange, would halt attacks on U.S. troops. The Sunni Arabs agreed.

The U.S. is currently spending hundreds of millions of dollars to pay the monthly salaries of some 600,000 armed fighters in the three rival ethnic camps in Iraq. These fighters -- Shiite, Kurd and Sunni Arab -- are not only antagonistic but deeply unreliable allies. The Sunni Arab militias have replaced central government officials, including police, and taken over local administration and security in the pockets of Iraq under their control. They have no loyalty outside of their own ethnic community. Once the money runs out, or once they feel strong enough to make a thrust for power, the civil war in Iraq will accelerate with deadly speed. The tactic of money-for-peace failed in Afghanistan. The U.S. doled out funds and weapons to tribal groups in Afghanistan to buy their loyalty, but when the payments and weapons shipments ceased, the tribal groups headed back into the embrace of the Taliban.

The Sunni Arab militias are known by a variety of names: the Iraqi Security Volunteers (ISVs), neighborhood watch groups, Concerned Local Citizens, Critical Infrastructure Security. The militias call themselves "sahwas" ("sahwa" being the Arabic word for awakening). There are now 80,000 militia fighters, nearly all Sunni Arabs, paid by the United States to control their squalid patches of Iraq. They are expected to reach 100,000. The Sunni Arab militias have more fighters under arms than the Shiite Mahdi Army and are about half the size of the feeble Iraqi army. The Sunni Awakening groups, which fly a yellow satin flag, are forming a political party.

Click on link above to read the full story.

NEW U.S. DEATH IN BAGHDAD: AIR FORCE COMPUTER EXPERT KILLS HIS TWO CHILDREN AND SELF

The Bush administration and their "parrot," FOX NEWS, continue to LIE to the American public about what is REALLY happening in Iraq.

Conditions in Iraq are not what the Bush administration and their mouthpiece, FOX NEWS, claim them to be. It is much worse and there are growing signs Iraq is headed back into a full-scale civil war with 160,000 young Americans caught right in the middle of the sectarian chaos.

U.S. Deaths Confirmed By The DoD:
3972
Reported U.S. Deaths Pending DoD Confirmation:
1
Total
3973DoD Confirmation List

http://icasualties.org/oif/

Latest Coalition Fatality: Feb 25, 2008
02/27/08 DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Spc. Orlando A. Perez, 23, of Houston, died Feb. 24 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered from small arms fire during dismounted operations. He was assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, Vilseck, Germany.

Post Iraq Deaths Not Confirmed By the DoD
Name
Date
Wasielewsk, Anthony Raymond
08-Oct-2007
Cassidy, Gerald J.
25-Sep-2007
Richards, Jack D.
29-Jul-2007
Salerno III, Raymond A.
16-Jul-2006
Smith, John "Bill"
01-Oct-2005Note: The soldiers listed above died from wounds received in Iraq, however, the DoD has not included their deaths in their official count.

02/27/08 AP: US Air Force computer expert kills his 2 young children, himself
A recently divorced airman who served with distinction in Iraq chased his ex-wife out of military housing with a pistol before killing his two young children and himself.

02/27/08 WCAX: Vermont Veteran Says Army Recruiter Misled Him
You may have heard military advertisements offering college tuition as an inducement for young people to sign up. A Vermont man who fought in Iraq now claims that a military recruiter misled him about those education benefits.

02/27/08 MCT: Another review for troubled U.S. Embassy in Baghdad
The State Department's new embassy construction chief has rejected his predecessor's certification that the $740 million new U.S. embassy in Baghdad is "substantially completed" and has instead begun a top-to-bottom review of the troubled project.

02/27/08 NPR: Poorest in Iraq Unable to Seek Refuge
Much has been written about the more than 2 million Iraqis who have sought refuge in neighboring countries. But there are an estimated 2.5 million internally displaced Iraqis who are not getting the help they need.

02/27/08 Reuter: Two gunmen killed in clashes with Iraqi soldiers in Mosul
Two gunmen were killed during clashes with Iraqi soldiers in Mosul, Nineveh security spokesman Brigadier-General Khalid Abdul-Sattar said. He said one of the gunmen was an Iraqi and the other was a Saudi national.

02/27/08 Reuters: Gunmen attack checkpoint near Lake Thar Thar
Gunmen attacked a checkpoint manned by Iraqi police and members of a U.S.-backed neighbourhood police unit, killing two and wounding three, near Lake Thar Thar, 80 km (50 miles) northwest of Baghdad, police said.

02/27/08 Reuters: 1 off-duty Iraqi soldier killed, 2 wounded near Tikrit
An off-duty Iraqi soldier was killed and two wounded when gunmen opened fire on their car near Tikrit, 175 km (110 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

02/27/08 Reuters: Gunmen wound four off-duty policemen in Baiji
Gunmen wounded four off-duty policemen in a drive-by shooting in Baiji, 180 km (110 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

02/27/08 guardian: Video shows British hostage held in Iraq
The Arabiya satellite TV channel based in Dubai tonight aired a video of one of five Britons held in Iraq for eight months. The man, who gave his name as Peter Moore, said he missed his family very much and "just wanted to get out of here".

02/27/08 AFP: Shiite pilgrims flock to Iraq shrine city
Amid tight security, millions of Shiite pilgrims flocked Wednesday to the Iraqi shrine city of Karbala for Arbaeen, one of the holiest ceremonies in the Shiite calendar which was largely suppressed during the iron-fisted rule of Saddam Hussein.

02/27/08 AP: Bomb kills Shiite pilgrim in Iraq on holy day
Shiite pilgrims headed to a major religious gathering were again targeted by extremists today when a roadside bomb detonated near a bus in Baghdad, killing one traveler, police said.

IRAQ IS FALLING APART AGAIN

The Bush administration and their mouthpiece, FOX NEWS, can do all the chest-thumping they want about how well things are going in Iraq, but the reality is Iraq is falling apart again.

The Sunni faction is fed up with the U.S. military and the Iraqi government, such as it is.

Many Sunni "fighters" no longer are interested in bringing stability to Iraq and are leaving their posts.

The handwriting is on the wall. Iraq is now headed for another major crisis, and caught right in the middle of the upcoming crisis are 160,000 brave young Americans who have been deployed to Iraq.

And STILL the media in the United States ignores what is happening in Iraq. This Washington Post story is the first major newspaper story about Iraq in months.

Bill Corcoran, editor of CORKSPHERE, http://corksphere.blogspot.com/, a blog dedicated to not letting the troops down in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Sunni Forces Losing Patience With U.S.Citing Lack of Support

Frustrated Iraqi Volunteers Are Abandoning Posts

By Sudarsan Raghavan and Amit R. PaleyWashington Post Foreign ServiceThursday, February 28, 2008; A01

http://tinyurl.com/yp6rtf

BAGHDAD, Feb. 28 -- U.S.-backed Sunni volunteer forces, which have played a vital role in reducing violence in Iraq, are increasingly frustrated with the American military and the Iraqi government over what they see as a lack of recognition of their growing political clout and insufficient U.S. support.

Since Feb. 8, thousands of fighters in restive Diyala province have left their posts in order to pressure the government and its American backers to replace the province's Shiite police chief.

On Wednesday, their leaders warned that they would disband completely if their demands were not met.

In Babil province, south of Baghdad, fighters have refused to man their checkpoints after U.S. soldiers killed several comrades in mid-February in circumstances that remain in dispute.

Some force leaders and ground commanders also reject a U.S.-initiated plan that they say offers too few Sunni fighters the opportunity to join Iraq's army and police, and warn that low salaries and late payments are pushing experienced members to quit.

The predominantly Sunni Awakening forces, referred to by the U.S. military as the Sons of Iraq or Concerned Local Citizens, are made up mostly of former insurgents who have turned against extremists because of their harsh tactics and interpretation of Islam.

The U.S. military pays many fighters roughly $10 a day to guard and patrol their areas.

Thousands more unpaid volunteers have joined out of tribal and regional fealties.

U.S. efforts to manage this fast-growing movement of about 80,000 armed men are still largely effective, but in some key areas the control is fraying. The tensions are the most serious since the Awakening was launched in Anbar province in late 2006, according to Iraqi officials, U.S. commanders and 20 Awakening leaders across Iraq.

Some U.S. military officials say they are growing concerned that the Sunni insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq has infiltrated Awakening forces in some areas.

NEW IRAQ CASUALTY REPORT: VIOLENCE HITS BAGHDAD AND OTHER PROVINCES

The hopes and dreams of this blogger is that someday the mainstream media will again start covering what is happening in Iraq and Afghanistan, but until that time comes, if ever, we will continue to bring to readers of this blog the latest information about death, mayhem, chaos and violence in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Commentary by Bill Corcoran, editor of CORKSPHERE

U.S.Casualty Reports From Iraq: More Violence in Baghdad and Across Iraq

Pfc. Jake Williams was spending his 20th birthday – Aug. 13, 2007 – on combat patrol in the Iraqi desert when a bomb blast tore through his Humvee. “I remember looking down at my (right) hand, just hanging there,” said Williams, of Sun City in Riverside County. Half a year later, minus his amputated hand, he's out of combat but still among his military buddies.

Army Spc. Saul Martinez, 23, of Bloomington, who lost both of his legs following a roadside bomb blast in Iraq last May. Shrapnel riddled Williams' body and mangled his hand. Worse, a jagged piece of metal pierced his neck. His friends had to cut a hole in his throat to let him breathe.

Baghdad:#1: A roadside bomb struck a minibus carrying travelers to a Shiite religious commemoration Wednesday morning, killing one traveler and wounding two others, police said. Wednesday's attack occurred in eastern Baghdad when the bomb went off next to the minibus, according to a police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.

#2: A civilian was injured on Wednesday in a roadside bomb explosion in southeastern Baghdad, the commander of the Baghdad's operations said. "An improvised explosive device, planted by unknown gunmen near Sahet Misloun in southeastern Baghdad, went off, wounding one civilian," General Qassem Atta told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq.

#3: A civilian was killed and two others were wounded when an IED exploded targeting a Caprice carrying fuel cans in al Ghadeer neighborhood in east Baghdad. The car exploded and was completely charred.

#4 IRAQ journalists' union chief Shihab al-Timimi died of a heart attack on Wednesday just days after being wounded in a drive-by shooting, a union official said. The 75-year-old had been rushed to a Baghdad hospital with a bullet wound to his chest after Saturday's attack on his car. Yesterday he suffered a heart attack which he could not survive, union secretary general Moaed al-Lami said.

#5: Police found two unidentified bodies in Baghdad today. One body was found in Doura neighborhood while the other body was found in Mashtal neighborhood.

Hilla:#1: Babil Police found an unidentified body in al Tihmaziyah village southwest of Hilla city on Wednesday morning, police of Hilla city said. Police said that the deceased body carried signs of torture and bullet wounds

Basra:#1: Gunmen using machine guns opened fire, killing one police officer, first lieutenant Raid Khudair, in the al Mutaiha area south of Basra city on Wednesday morning, police said.

Tikrit:#1: An off-duty Iraqi soldier was killed and two wounded when gunmen opened fire on their car near Tikrit, 175 km (110 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.Baiji:#1: Gunmen wounded four off-duty policemen in a drive-by shooting in Baiji, 180 km (110 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

Lake Thar Thar:#1: Gunmen attacked a checkpoint manned by Iraqi police and members of a U.S.-backed neighbourhood police unit, killing two and wounding three, near Lake Thar Thar, 80 km (50 miles) northwest of Baghdad, police said.

Kirkuk:#1: "Domiz police chief, Colonel Anwar Hussein, survived an attempt on his life when a booby-trapped car targeted his convoy in al-Askari neighborhood in northern Kirkuk," the source, who requested anonymity, told Aswat al-Iraq, Voices of Iraq, (VOI)."The explosion did not cause any damage or casualties," the source explained.

#2: Unknown gunmen kidnapped two workers and a trucker in the main road leading to Rashad district, near Sami al-Assi village, 30 km south-west of Kirkuk, an eyewitness told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq - (VOI) over the phone. He added, "The gunmen abducted the three individuals when their vehicle carrying construction materials passed by the road, taking them to an unknown place."

Mosul:#1: Two gunmen were killed during clashes with Iraqi soldiers in Mosul, Nineveh security spokesman Brigadier-General Khalid Abdul-Sattar said. He said one of the gunmen was an Iraqi and the other was a Saudi national.

#2: Two people were killed and one wounded when a car bomb exploded near a police patrol in Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, said Brigadier-General Khalid Abdul-Sattar, the military spokesman for Nineveh province.

#3: Gunmen using machineguns opened fire killed a student in Mosul University. The incident took place in Hamdaniyah town east of Mosul city on Tuesday night.

Afghanistan:#1: A roadside bomb killed two Polish soldiers patrolling in eastern Afghanistan, officials said Wednesday, while NATO announced the seizure of $400 million in opium in the south. The explosion hit the troops in the Sharan district of Paktika province on Tuesday, said NATO's International Security Assistance Force. The Polish troops were returning from a humanitarian aid meeting in a village when their Humvee drove over a roadside mine, Maj. Dariusz Kacperczyk, spokesman for the Polish army operational command, said in Warsaw. The two soldiers killed were identified as Cpl. Szymon Slowik and Pvt. Hubert Kowalewski. One soldier was also wounded

#2: Afghanistan's interior minister survived a rocket and small arms ambush by suspected Taliban insurgents to the east of the capital Kabul on Wednesday, a ministry official said. Interior Minister Zarar Ahmad Moqbel was traveling through the Tangi Abrishim area of Laghman province when the attackers opened fire on his convoy with a single rocket, then followed up with a volley of small arms fire, the official said. The minister's guards returned fire, but there was no news of any casualties in the exchange and it was not clear if the attackers knew he was in the convoy, said the official, who declined to be named.

#3: Australia says its soldiers have fought off a number of Taliban attacks over the past few days in southern Afghanistan. The defence department says extremists used rocket propelled grenades and small arms fire to attack the troops while they were working on a construction site, building a patrol base for the Afghan National Army. The department says the immediate and aggressive response to the attacks forced the militants to retreat and abandon their weapons. No Australian troops have been injured.

#4: Norway's defence ministry said on Wednesday it would allow some of its soldiers stationed in Afghanistan to go to the south of the country where battles against the Taliban and al-Qaeda have been the toughest and Canada has been pleading for more allied help. But a group of 50 soldiers, to be sent to the war-torn state in October to help train the Afghan army, will be able to accompany Afghan troops into southern Afghanistan.

Iraqi council rejects elections law
Iraq's presidential council rejected a measure Wednesday setting up provincial elections, sending it back to parliament in the latest setback to U.S.-backed national reconciliation efforts. The three-member panel, however, approved the 2008 budget and another law that provides limited amnesty to detainees in Iraqi custody. Those laws will take effect once they are published in the Justice Ministry gazette. The three laws were approved as a package by the Iraqi parliament on Feb. 13. The step drew praise from the Bush administration, which had sought passage of a provincial powers law as one of 18 benchmarks to promote reconciliation among Iraq's Sunni and Shiite Arab communities and the large Kurdish minority.

MAJOR SETBACK FOR U.S. POLICY IN IRAQ

Just when the Bush Administration and Jennifer Griffin of FOX NEWS and BRIT HUME'S "FOX NEWS SPECIAL REPORT" were boasting about how well things were going politically in Iraq, the Iraqi government rejected a measure to hold provincial elections.

The rejection is a major blow to the United States and the Bush Administration who were hoping the elections would solidfy Iraq.

Iraqi council rejects elections law

24 minutes ago

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080227/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_politics

Iraq's presidential council rejected Wednesday a measure setting up provincial elections — seen as a key step to develop Iraq's nascent democracy — in the latest setback to U.S.-backed national reconciliation efforts.

The three-member panel approved the 2008 budget and another law that provides limited amnesty to detainees in Iraqi custody.

The three laws were approved as a package by the Iraqi parliament on Feb. 13. The move drew praise from the Bush administration, which had sought passage of a provincial powers law as one of 18 benchmarks to promote reconciliation among Iraq's Sunni and Shiite Arab communities and the Kurdish minority.

"No agreement has been reached in the Presidency Council to approve the provincial elections draft law and that it has been sent back to the parliament to reconsider the rejected articles," the presidential council said in a statement.

The panel is composed of President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, Shiite Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi and Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi.

IRAQ SOLDIERS WITH MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS DENIED TREATMENT BY ARMY DOCTORS

As the Iraq war now is about to enter its sixth year, it should come as no surprise to anyone that many of the soldiers serving in Iraq are suffering from severe mental health problems.

It also should come as no surprise to anyone who has followed how the Bush Administration and the military have dealt with problems in the military that many of the soldiers in dire need need of mental health treatment are not getting it because military doctors are withholding treatment.

The result has been an increase in suicides and suicide attempts with active duty GIs and those released by the military.

The mistreatment of soldiers and Marines with mental health issues is just one more black mark on the military and the Bush administration who are quick to send troops to Iraq but not so quick to provide them with adequate mental health care when they return to the United States.

Military Doctors Withholding Treatment from Soldiers with Mental Health Problems

By Maggie Mahar, Health BeatPosted on February 27, 2008, Printed on February 27, 2008

http://www.alternet.org/story/77867/

Since 9/11, one Army division has spent more time in Iraq than any other group of soldiers: the 10th Mountain Division, based at Fort Drum, New York.

Over the past 6 years and and six months, their 2nd Brigade Combat Team (BCT) has been the most deployed brigade in the army. As of this month, the brigade had completed its fourth tour of Iraq. All in all, the soldiers of BCT have spent 40 months in Iraq
.
At what cost? According to a February 13 report issued by the Veterans for America's (VFA) Wounded Warrior Outreach Program, which is dedicated to strengthening the military mental health system, it is not just their bodies that have been maimed and, in some cases, destroyed.

Many of these soldiers are suffering from severe mental health problems that have led to suicide attempts as well as spousal abuse and alcoholism.

Meanwhile, the soldiers of the 2nd BCT have been given too little time off in between deployments: In one case they had only six months to mentally "re-set"; following an eight-month tour in Afghanistan -- before beginning a 12-month tour in Iraq.

Then, in April 2007, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates decided to extend Army tours in Iraq from 12 to 15 months -- shortly after the BCT had passed what it assumed was its halfway mark in Iraq.

As the VFA report points out, "Mental health experts have explained that 'shifting the goalposts' on a soldier's deployment period greatly contributes to an increase in mental health problems."

Perhaps it should not come as a surprise that, during its most recent deployment, the 2nd BCT suffered heavy casualties. "Fifty-two members of the 2nd BCT were killed in action (KIA)," the VFA reports and "270 others were listed as non-fatality casualties, while two members of the unit remain missing in action (MIA)."

Go back to link to read the full story.

19-YEAR OLD OKLAHOMA GI KILLED IN BAGHDAD

02/26/08 AP: 19-year-old Ft. Campbell soldier killed near Baghdad The mother of 19-year-old Pfc. Michael Phillips of Ardmore, Okla., says she was told Sunday afternoon that her son was killed Sunday morning...near Baghdad when the Humvee he was in was hit by a roadside bomb.

http://icasualties.org/oif/

02/26/08 Reuters: Three bodies found in Baghdad, 1 in Hilla
Three bodies were found in different districts across Baghdad on Monday, police said...A body was found with gunshot wounds in central Hilla, 100 km (60 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.

02/26/08 Reuters: Gunmen kill 2 neighbourhood policemen in Kirkuk
Gunmen killed two U.S.-backed neighbourhood policemen in a drive-by shooting in an attack on their checkpoint in a town south of Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

02/26/08 IRIN: Iraq's health sector under pressure
With scores of doctors killed over the past few years, an exodus of medical personnel, poor medical infrastructure and shortages of medicines, Iraq's health sector is under great pressure, a senior Health Ministry official said on 26 February.


02/26/08 Xinhua: 2 Turkish soldiers killed in operation in N Iraq
Two soldiers of the Turkish Armed Forces were killed in the latest fighting during the cross-border ground operation in northern Iraq on Tuesday, Turkish military said.

02/26/08 Xinhua: Three Iraqis killed in northern Iraq
Three people were killed in two attacks in a town in Salahudin province on Tuesday, a source from U.S. and Iraqi liaison office said. Unknown gunmen stormed a house early in the morning in the town of Tuz-Khurmato...

02/26/08 AFP: Suicide bomber kills nine on
Iraqi bus
A suicide bomber blew himself up inside a bus travelling from the northern Iraqi city of Mosul to Syria on Tuesday, killing at least nine passengers, an Iraqi army officer told AFP.

02/26/08 PANews: Iraq condemns Turkish incursion
The Iraqi government has denounced Turkish incursions targeting Kurdish and demanded an immediate withdrawal of Turkish troops from northern Iraq. Spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said the military action was a violation of Iraqi sovereignty...

02/26/08 AP: Probe Sought in Marine Vehicle Delays
The Marine Corps has asked the Pentagon's inspector general to examine allegations that a nearly two-year delay in the fielding of blast-resistant vehicles led to hundreds of combat casualties in Iraq.

And still the mainstream media and FOX NEWS claim everything is just peachy in IRAQ.

WILL FOX NEWS' JENNIFER GRIFFIN IGNORE AGAIN THE MAYHEM AND VIOLENCE IN IRAQ?

Jennifer Griffin, a reporter for FOX NEWS, will present her second installment on news from Iraq on the Tuesday, February 26 BRIT HUME's FOX NEWS SPECIAL REPORT, however it remains to be seen if Ms. Griffin will actually report on what is happening in IRAQ or will she present another puff piece like she did Monday night.

Adding insult to the American public and to the 160,000 young Americans deployed to Iraq, Republican Sen. (Texas) Kay Bailey Hutchison appeared on the MSNBC "Morning Joe" show on Tuesday and told reporter Mika Bryzinski that "the surge" has been a wonderful success in Iraq.

Both Jennifer Griffin and Sen. Hutchison obviously are not reading what is taking place in Iraq, or they are simply propaganda merchants of the worst kind.

Scroll down through this list of mayhem and violence in Iraq on Tuesday, Feburary 26 alone, and if anyone can say "the surge" has been a roaring success they are either blind or too dumb to understand the truth.

Fred Barnes, of the ridiculous FOX NEWS "The Beltway Boys," is another right winger who can't see the truth about conditions in Iraq and goes on his own show and guests on FOX NEWS SPECIBRIT HUME'S SPECIAL REPORT and sings the praises of "the surge" when there is all kinds of information that contradicts his absurd comments.

Commentary by Bill Corcoran, editor of CORKSPHERE, http://corksphere.blogspot.com/, the blog that dares to tell the TRUTH about what is happening in Iraq and Afghanistan and not Bush Administration "talking points" or FOX NEWS "spin."

War News for Tuesday, February 26, 2008

http://warnewstoday.blogspot.com/

The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle is reporting the death Army Spc. Kevin Mow, 22, at National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda Maryland on Monday, February 25th. He was originally injured from an IED attack in Baghdad on August 2nd 2007. Three soldiers were killed and eleven were wounded when the explosion hit their Stryker vehicle. Here's the MNF-Iraq release.

The Danish MoD is reporting the death of a soldier who appears to have been working with NATO in Iraq. Johnny Mikkelsen appears to have died from an accident while in Northern Iraq on January 22nd. We'll have an update for this when more details are found.

Security incidents:

Diyala Prv:Baquba:#1: A group of armed men set up a fake checkpoint north of Iraq's restive town of Baquba and kidnapped 21 civilians travelling in two minibuses on Tuesday, police said. Police Lieutenant Colonel Najim al-Sumaidaie from Baquba told AFP the checkpoint was set up in an area called Al-Adaim, 60 kilometres (35 miles) north of Baquba in the Diyala province, northeast of Baghdad. "At about 10:00 am (0700 GMT) several armed men stopped a minibus carrying 11 men and three women at the checkpoint. They released the women but abducted the men," Sumaidaie said. He said minutes later another minibus was stopped by the kidnappers and 10 men travelling in it were also abducted.

#2: In Baquba, 60 kilometres north of Baghdad, eight army troops were killed when militants attacked their patrol, the Iraqi news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI) said.Hilla:

#1: A body was found with gunshot wounds in central Hilla, 100 km (60 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.Basra:

#1: Unidentified gunmen fired two missiles at the Iranian consulate building in Basra but no casualties or damage were reported, a police source said. "Unidentified gunmen in a vehicle fired two RPG-7 shells at the building of the Iranian consulate in southern in southern Basra," the source, who preferred not be named, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of IraqTuz Khurmato:

#1: Fifteen gunmen broke into a house in the village of Tuz Khormato, 130 miles north of Baghdad, killing an Iraqi soldier and wounding his brother.

#2: A roadside bomb detonated near a civilian truck, carrying construction materials, on the main road near the town of SulaimanBek near the town of Tuz-Khurmato, killing the driver and another man, the source said..Hawija:

#1: In Hawija, 150 miles north of Baghdad, two members of the local awakening council—Sunni fighters who have turned against al-Qaida—were killed after gunmen opened fire on a checkpoint.Kirkuk:

#1: In another incident, three members of the Awakening Council were killed in Kirkuk, some 250 kilometres north of Baghdad, Iraqi officials told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa. 'Militants attacked Tuesday a checkpoint of the Awakening Councils in Abasseiya area in Kirkuk, killing at least three members,' Fatah Abdul-ah, an Iraqi official told dpa.Mosul:

#1: A suicide bomber killed 14 people in an attack on a bus in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on Tuesday, security sources said. Another seven people were wounded but few other details were immediately available. Another police source said the initial death toll was five. Iraqi police in Mosul, 350 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, said the bus was carrying passengers to Syria to Iraq's west. They said a wounded passenger had told them that the bomber boarded the bus and told the driver to change direction before detonating a belt packed with explosives.

A suicide bomber blew himself up inside a bus traveling west of Mosul in northern Iraq's Nineveh province on Tuesday, killing 40 people and wounding five others, a provincial police source said.Kurdistan:

#1: The Turkish military has said 153 rebels have been killed in the operation. The Kurdish rebels disputed the claim and warned that Turkey had entered a conflict that it cannot win. A statement posted on the military's Web site Monday also said two more soldiers were killed in fighting, but gave no details. The deaths would bring the total Turkish military fatalities since the start of the incursion Thursday to 17.

#2: Turkish troops were engaged in fierce clashes with Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq as they closed in on one of the main separatist camps, security sources here said Tuesday. Members of the Kurdish security force in the autonomous north of Iraq told AFP sustained fighting continued unabated since late Sunday as troops, backed by artillery and air cover, fought to seize a main rebel camp in the Zap area. The camp, situated in a deep valley just a six-kilometer (four-mile) walk from the Turkish border, is one of the main passages used by Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) rebels to infiltrate Turkish territory for attacks.

#3: Clashes also continued since late Monday in the mountainous Hakurk area to the east, close to Iraq's border with Iran, where the Turkish army air-dropped troops and helicopter gunships pounded rebel positions, the sources said.

#4: Another PKK official said fighters launched an attack on Turkish troops overnight in four positions in Alzab. 'Turkish troops suffered 21 casualties, including five soldiers, whose bodies are kept by PKK fighters, PKK spokesman, Ahmed Denees, told the Voices of Iraq news agency.Fighters has foiled an attempt by Turkish commandos to parachute into the Jimji area and forced them to retreat, Denees said. Clashes continue in Alzab and Bazya but came to a halt in Irsh with the retreat of Turkish troops.

Afghanistan:#1: A roadside bomb hit a vehicle carrying five policemen and a child in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, killing all six, officials said. The blast happened in the eastern Khost province close to the border with Pakistan, said police chief Gen. Mohammad Ayub. He blamed the attack on Taliban militants.On the Home Front:

#1: Three people are dead following an apparent homicide/suicide at Tinker Air Force base, Okla., Feb. 25. Tinker AFB security forces and Oklahoma County law enforcement officials responded to a domestic disturbance in the military family housing area at approximately 2:30 p.m. after being advised of a potential hostage situation. At approximately 4:30 p.m., a joint response force entered the residence and discovered the remains of three individuals -- one adult and two children.

#2: An Army solider on leave from Iraq walked into a High Desert convenience story Sunday night with a gunshot wound to his thigh and an account of a confrontation with a robber. But Pfc. Matthew John Myers' story about a robber shooting him at point-blank range near an Apple Valley golf course didn't match the evidence, sheriff's officials said. After interviews, detectives said they suspected something different: The 20-year-old had asked a friend to shoot him so he wouldn't have to return to Iraq.

#3: Four soldiers were injured, one critically, Monday in a training accident involving an artillery ammunition supply vehicle at Fort Carson, the post said. The accident happened about 1:30 p.m. when an M992 armored vehicle rolled over in a training area a couple of miles southwest of the post, Fort Carson spokeswoman Dee McNutt said.

#4: The Government has been ordered to release the minutes of Cabinet meetings where military action against Iraq was discussed. Information Commissioner Richard Thomas said the papers should be released under the Freedom of Information Act because of the "gravity and controversial nature" of the discussions. "He believes that disclosure of this information would allow the public to more fully understand this particular decision of the Cabinet," the commissioner's office said in a statement.Casualty Reports:

#1: A Jersey Shore soldier hurt in a mortar and rocket attack last week in Baghdad is recovering from her injuries and wants to remain in Iraq, according to her mother. Army Staff Sgt. Vanessa Buck, 27, of Jersey Shore, was injured when a blast shattered walls and windows in the compound where she was working, her mother, Lynn Stockton, also of Jersey Shore, said. “There was heavy mortar fire and rockets in areas of Baghdad and my son got a phone call at about 9:30 Monday morning about it.” “They were working in Saddam’s (former) palace, which they made into an office building and mortars came in and shattered the windows,” Stockton said. “She was struck by glass and sustained injuries from the glass in her face, neck, chest and arm.”

FOX NEWS' JENNIFER GRIFFIN AVOIDS REPORTING ON WHAT IS REALLY HAPPENING IN IRAQ

FOX NEWS, which everyone knows by now is the propaganda branch of the Bush White House and the Department of Defense, dispatched reporter Jennifer Griffin to Iraq to try and "sell" the American public on how well things are going in Iraq.

During Brit Hume's FOX NEWS "Special Report" show on Monday, Griffin presented the first of her reports from Ramadi, Iraq. The report, as would be expected, painted a rosy scenario of life in Ramadi including an interview with a GI who talked about how a year before one of his buddies lost several limbs in a roadside bomb explosion.

The second part of Griffin's propaganda piece is expected to air Tuesday night on Brit Hume's FOX NEWS "Special Report" http://www.foxnews.com/specialreport/index.html
Griffin purposefully avoided mentioning anything about the suicide bombings, chaos, killings and death of American GIs that is REALLY taking place in Iraq as indicated in our report which combines news sources from all across the Middle East.

The Jennifer Griffin "report" is just another indication what lengths FOX NEWS will go to in trying to cover up what is really taking place in Baghdad and the rest of Iraq.

From our point of view, we feel FOX NEWS is not only doing a disservice to their viewers, but it is an insult to the 160,000 brave young men and women deployed to Iraq who are facing a growing threat of violence everyday.

Commentary by Bill Corcoran, editor of CORKSPHERE, http://corksphere.blogspot.com/, the blog that tells the TRUTH about the violence and chaos that continues in Iraq and not Bush Administration "spin" aided and abetted by FOX NEWS, the mouthpiece for the Bush Administration.
Here is just a small portion of what is taking place in Iraq which FOX NEWS' Jennifer Griffin failed to report on.

DEATH AND MAYHEM SWEEP ACROSS IRAQ

Sunday: 2 US Soldiers, 75 Iraqis Killed
Monday: 26 Iraqis Killed, 31 Wounded
Blast Kills at Least 63 Shiite Pilgrims in Iraq
Mass grave of women found in Diala
A mass grave containing eight unidentified women was found in al-Khalis district, Diala, on Monday, a security source said. "The mass grave was found in the Harujah village, al-Khalis district, 15 km south of Baaquba," the source, who requested anonymity, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI).

REPORTS – US/UK/OTHERS IN IRAQ
U.S. expects 140,000 troops in Iraq after drawdown
[And god only knows how many mercenaries. – dancewater]

Oil giants poised to move into Basra
Western oil giants are poised to enter southern Iraq to tap the country's vast reserves, despite the ongoing threat of violence, according to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's business emissary to the country. Michael Wareing, who heads the new Basra Development Commission, acknowledged that there would be concerns among Iraqis about multinationals exploiting natural resources. …. "If you look at many other economies in the world, particularly the oil-rich economies, many of these places are quite challenging countries in which to do business," he said. "Frankly, if you can successfully operate in the Niger Delta, that is a very different benchmark from imagining that Basra needs to be like London or Paris."

See a map of proposed or actual permanent US bases in Iraq.

Americans: 43 Percent of Your 2007 Taxes Go to War

The Calm Before the Conflagration
The United States is funding and in many cases arming the three ethnic factions in Iraq-the Kurds, the Shiites and the Sunni Arabs. These factions rule over partitioned patches of Iraqi territory and brutally purge rival ethnic groups from their midst. Iraq no longer exists as a unified state. It is a series of heavily armed fiefdoms run by thugs, gangs, militias, radical Islamists and warlords who are often paid wages of $300 a month by the U.S. military. Iraq is Yugoslavia before the storm. It is a caldron of weapons, lawlessness, hate and criminality that is destined to implode. And the current U.S. policy, born of desperation and defeat, means that when Iraq goes up, the U.S. military will have to scurry like rats for cover.


Quote of the day: With the Iraqi Security Volunteers in place, the Americans are now arming both sides in the civil war. "Iraqi solutions for Iraqi problems," as U.S. strategists like to say. David Kilcullen, the counterinsurgency adviser to Gen. Petraeus, calls it "balancing competing armed interest groups." ~ from the article “The Myth of the Surge” by Nir Rosen
Security incidents:

Baghdad:#1: Also Monday, a roadside bomb exploded in the middle of a crowd of Shiite Muslims in southeastern Baghdad on Monday, killing three and wounding 15, an Interior Ministry official told CNN. The strike, in the Zafaraniya district, is the latest in a flurry of attacks against pilgrims trekking to Karbala for al-Arbaeen, one of the holiest days of the Shiite religious calendar. It falls on Wednesday this year.

#2: An Iraqi militant group has posted a video on the internet showing the killings of 12 Nepalese men who worked for a Nepalese company with a US contract. In 2004, an Iraqi militant group killed 12 Nepali hostages who had gone to Iraq to work as cooks and cleaners for a Jordanian firm. It showed pictures of one being beheaded and the others with bullet wounds to the head and back.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has dismissed news reports of killing of 12 Nepali workers in Iraq by Islamic insurgents. MoFA spokesperson Hira Bahadur Thapa told Nepalnews that Nepali embassies in Islamabad and Saudi Arabia reported to the ministry, after being asked to find out the truth, that so far no proof had been found to corroborate the news.

#2: A traffic policeman was wounded when two improvised explosive devices went off simultaneously in downtown Baghdad, Baghdad operations command said on Monday. "Two roadside explosive charges detonated simultaneously on Muhammad al-Qasim highway while an Iraqi police patrol was passing the location, wounding a traffic cop who was close to the scene of the blast," a spokesman for the operations command, Major General Qassim Ata, told Aswat al-Iraq, Voices of Iraq,Around 12:30 p.m., two roadside bombs exploded at the Qasim highway near the Shaab stadium (east Baghdad). Two people were injured in that incident.#3: Around 7:30 a.m., a roadside bomb exploded at Zafaraniyah neighborhood (east Baghdad) near Al-Noor mosque. No casualties recorded

#4: The mayor of al-Aazamiya, central Baghdad, on Monday escaped a kidnapping by unknown gunmen in al-Kazemiya neighborhood in northern Baghdad because local residents saved him.Hussein al-Juburi told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq - (VOI) over the phone "Unidentified gunmen stopped his car after leaving a funeral in al-Kazemiya neighborhood in northern Baghdad, forced him to exit his car, and disarmed his bodyguards.""I tried to escape but they caught me, but some persons arrived from the funeral and saved my life along with two of my bodyguards," the mayor added.

#5: Around 2p.m., a roadside bomb exploded near Al-Dayer church .No casualties or damage reported.

#6: Around 4 p.m., mortars hit Qadisiyah neighborhood..No casualties recorded.

#7: Around 5:30 p.m., gunmen using Toyota sedan car opened fire on an army check point near the Um Al-Tibul mosque and ran away. No casualties recorded.

#8: Police found three dead bodies in Baghdad today. Two of them in Risafa bank : 1 in Ubaidi and 1 in Zafaraniyah while the third was found in Amil in Karkh bank.Diyala Prv:Baquba:#1: Gunmen wearing Iraqi army uniforms stormed a house and killed a woman near Baquba, police said.

#2: Police found the decomposing bodies of eight women who had been blindfolded, handcuffed and shot in the head, in a grave in a town just north of Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

#3: "Unidentified gunmen killed two persons near a garage in central Baaquba," the source, who declined to reveal his name, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq

#4: Five Iraqi soldiers, including their commanding officer, were killed when al Qaeda militants ambushed their patrol south of Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) north of Baghdad, said Major-General Abdul Kareem al-Rubaie, leader of Iraqi security forces in Diyala province.Around 2:30 p.m., gunmen attacked an Iraqi army patrol at Buhrz (6km south of Baquba) and killed all the eight patrol members including a major.

#5: Around noon, a roadside bomb targeted a civilian car on the way between Qara taba and Khanaqeen in the north east of Baquba .Both passengers of the vehicle were killed in that incident. Iskandariya:#1: (update) The death toll from Sunday's suicide bomb attack on Iraqi pilgrims heading to a Shi'ite festival south of Baghdad has risen to 63, a health official said on Monday.Basra:

#1: This morning, gunmen opened fire on three oil company guards at Bahadriya of Abu Al-Khaseeb, southeast of Basra. One guard was killed and the other two were seriously injured.#2: Police found the body of the engineer Ali Mahmoud at Hamdan neighborhood in south Basra. Ali was kidnapped a month ago from his house at a residential compound by gunmen who were wearing police uniforms.Samarra:

#1: A disabled, wheelchair-bound man blew himself up on Monday in a northern Iraqi police station, killing a top police official and wounding six police officers, police told CNN. The attack, which occurred in Samarra in Salaheddin province. A high-ranking official with Samarra police said that the man came to meet with Brig. Gen. Abdul Jabbar Rabei Muttar, the deputy commander of security, at the security operations building in the city. The pair met last week as well. The man was searched when he entered the building, but police didn't look under his wheelchair seat, where the explosives had been placed. The man detonated the explosives when Muttar approached him.In a separate attack on Monday, a handicapped man in a wheel chair wearing an explosives vest blew himself up inside a police building in the central city of Samarra, killing three policemen, including a general, officials said.Hawija:

#1: A civilian was killed and nine people were wounded (6 of them are Sahwa members including the leader of Sahwa Colonel Hussein Khalaf Ali and a commander of battalion in Sahwa) when a car bomb exploded targeting Sahwa members in Hawija town south of Kirkuk on Monday morning.Kirkuk:

#1: In the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, a police commander, General Sarhad Qadir, escaped an assassination attempt, according to security officials. A bomb went off as the general's motorcade was driving by the main hospital in central Kirkuk.In Kirkuk, police chief Brigadier Sarhad Qader escaped injury when a roadside explosive device detonated as his convoy passed, KUNA reported.

#2: A civilian was injured on Monday in a bomb blast in southern Kirkuk, a police source said. "An improvised explosive device went off in al-Khadraa neighborhood in southern Kirkuk, targeting a police vehicle patrol, wounding a civilian," the source, who asked to remain anonymous, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of IraqMosul:

#1: In the northern city of Mosul, three people from the same family including a child, and four women were injured in a blast. An object fell on a house in the Tal al-Roman area, in western Mosul, causing the blast, security sources told VOI.A mortar shell killed three and wounded four civilians.

#2: Also in Mosul, four policemen were killed in an attack by gunmen on their patrol in the eastern Muarid district, VOI reported.

#3: A boy was killed when insurgents opened fire on a U.S. patrol in Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, the U.S. military said. The boy, who was playing with children in the street, was hit by a stray bullet fired by the insurgents.

It will be interesting to see if FOX NEWS' Jennifer Griffin reports on any of these developments in Iraq in her next report on the Brit Hume FOX NEWS "Special Report" show on Tuesday, Feburary 26

MISSOURI AND WASHINGTON, D.C. GIS LATEST FATALITIES FROM IRAQ WAR

A soldier from St. Charles Mo and another from Washington D.C. are the latest casualties from the war in Iraq.

Their deaths were reported on http://icasualties.org/oif/, the most reliable source for news of casualties from the Iraq war.

U.S. Deaths Confirmed By The DoD:
3970
Reported U.S. Deaths Pending DoD Confirmation:
2
Total
3972DoD Confirmation List

Latest Coalition Fatality: Feb 24, 2008
02/25/08 DoD Identifies Marine Casualty
Lance Cpl. Drew W. Weaver, 20, of St. Charles, Mo., died Feb. 21 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force...

02/25/08 DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Spc. Keisha M. Morgan, 25, of Washington, D.C., died Feb. 22 in Baghdad, Iraq, of a non-combat related cause. She was assigned to the Division Special Troops Battalion, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

02/24/08 MND-B Soldier attacked by small-arms fire
A Multi-National Division - Baghdad Soldier was killed by small-arms fire during combat operations in southern Baghdad Feb. 24.

02/24/08 MNF: MND-B Soldier attacked by IED
A Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldier was killed when an improvised explosive device struck the Soldier’s vehicle during a combat patrol in northern Baghdad Feb. 24.

DON'T BOTHER WITH U.S. MEDIA IF YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT IRAQ WAR

This former intel analyst found out what I have known for better than a year.

Namely, if you want to know what is happening in the Iraq war forget about looking for it in the mainstream media in the United States. The print and electronic media in the U.S. have long ago abandoned covering the Iraq war. Inside U.S. newsroooms they call it "IRAQ FATIGUE."

The media in the United States have made a decision that Americans are tired of reading and hearing about the Iraq War.

To learn what is happening in Iraq, this former reporter and columnist has found you have to search out foreign web sites where news about the war in Iraq is reported sans the filter of the Bush White House and most of all avoid at all costs watching FOX NEWS which is nothing more than a propaganda branch of the Bush Administration and Department of Defense.

Commentary by Bill Corcoran, editor of CORKSPHERE.


Intel Analyst: Don't Bother with U.S. Media If You Want to Know About Iraq

By Alex Rossmiller, Presidio PressPosted on February 22, 2008, Printed on February 25, 2008

http://www.alternet.org/story/77372/

My new book, Still Broken, recounts my time working as an intelligence officer for the Defense Intelligence Agency, from the halls of the Pentagon to the palaces of Baghdad. It addresses the strategic shortcomings in our efforts to defend this country from enemies overseas, from explaining how the Bush administration continues to mismanage the war in Iraq and turn our intelligence efforts into an ineffective political apparatus to describing my first-hand experience dealing with detainees likely guilty only of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
I wrote the book because I think it is important that people know the truth about what is happening with our military and intelligence structures in Washington and in Iraq, and I think there are too few reality-based voices speaking out about these issues. In particular, one of the greatest challenges to an informed national dialogue on Iraq is the lack of accurate and insightful news from much of the mainstream media, especially conservative outlets. In the following excerpt, a part of the conclusion of the book, I explain how the media appeared to me while I was inside the system, and what might be done to improve the information flow.
***
Most Americans remain unaware of the depth and breadth of the ongoing problems in the intelligence community, and even of just how bad things are in Iraq. To some extent, the lack of information about the changes in U.S. intelligence and military strategy is directly related to the dearth of news reporting on these issues. It is difficult to find credible, timely, and relevant news on Iraq, and even on intelligence and military policy in general. I was one of very few analysts who augmented classified reporting with unclassified information, and I was constantly scouring the media for insightful information. Television news was unhelpful, as always, a flow of talking heads with little knowledge and even less interest in getting into details or subtleties. Print media was inconsistent at best.

For whatever reason, the television idea of "balance" was, for a long time, to report casualties on our side (Bad News) and reconstruction or casualties on their side (Good News). There was even a grim cyclical nature to the reports; invariably we could count on "School Built in Iraq" to become, a few weeks later, a casualty report: "3 Coalition Soldiers, 18 Iraqis Dead in New School Blast." Broadcast media also reported major events, such as elections, government formation, and particularly relevant statements, but rarely explained the "how" and "why" along with the "what." Some long-form TV news managed to address some of the finer points, but mostly television presented a flood of events without context. And in any case, most people can read faster than others can talk, so people can consume far more news in print form than through broadcast, making TV doubly useless.

In turning to print media, I would at least peruse mainstream news outlets: The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times,and magazines such as Time and Newsweek.There was some value there, but they, too, often reported events without conextual explanation. So if I read a piece about the latest surge in Shia-Sunni violence in the Times, the same story with minor variations was often repeated in all the major outlets. Still, I skimmed several corporate media websites every day: CNN, MSNBC, NY Times, the Post, LA Times, and Fox News, among others, to get a sense of the news cycle. Some commentators, primarily political conservatives, have criticized corporate media for neglecting to cover the good news in Iraq, but I found that the larger problem was not that the media didn't cover the good news, but that it did not cover much of anything of real depth in Iraq. While the debate went on over whether the media spent too much time reporting on casualties, a civil war raged. While the media dutifully reported the drafting of the Iraqi constitution, it failed to explain the many problems the document would likely cause. And so on.

The answer to the search for news both current and analytical, I found, often lay in nontraditional online media. Among corporate media, often the most interesting and helpful articles were op-eds, which actually took the time to proffer assessment of the news rather than just transcription of events. Some were better than others -- I avoided Tom Friedman like the plague, for example, but regularly read Fareed Zakaria -- but they were the best place to get unique and insightful perspectives on Iraq, the Middle East, and the so-called War on Terror. The logical extension of op-eds in traditional media was to online magazines and blogs. There were former intelligence professionals, professors, think-tank fellows, and people actually in the countries I worked on who wrote regularly online, and I sought out the best ones to inform my thinking, for both general knowledge and professional analysis.

BAGHDAD EXPLODES IN VIOLENCE DESPITE "THE SURGE"

Baghdad was one of the cities the Bush Administration and their puppet propaganda network, FOX NEWS, were claiming the violence was brought under control by "the surge," but on Monday Baghdad exploded with violence including the death of two more American soldiers.

Ten rockets and mortar rounds were fired into the heavily guarded "Green Zone" in Baghdad on Saturday. The "Green Zone" is the seat of the Iraqi government as well as the United States and British embassies. "Camp Victory," home to thousands of U.S. military personnel deployed to Baghdad, is situated nearby the "Green Zone."

There were other incidents of violence in other provinces and cities in Iraq as unrest and chaos are on the rise in the war torn country.

Meanwhile, back in the United States the mainstream media has turned a deaf ear and a blind eye to the escalation of violence in Baghdad and all across Iraq.

By Bill Corcoran, editor of CORKSPHERE, http://corksphere.blogspot.com/ the blog that brings readers the TRUTH about conditions in Baghdad and the rest of Iraq and not Bush White House "spin" or propaganda by the Bush White House public relations tool, FOX NEWS.

TWO MORE GIS KILLED IN BAGHDAD AS VIOLENCE SWEEPS ACROSS IRAQ

MAN IN WHEELCHAIR BLOWS HIMSELF UP OUTSIDE A POLICE STATION

MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a Multi-National Division - Baghdad soldier in an IED attack in a northern neighborhood of Baghdad on Sunday, February 24th. MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a Multi-National Division - Baghdad soldier from a small-arms fire attack in a southern neighborhood of Baghdad on Sunday, February 24th.

The Danish Ministry of Defense is reporting the death of a soldier in a training accident in Helmand province in Afghanistan on Sunday, February 24th. Here's the ISAF statement.Security incidents:Baghdad:#1:

Also Monday, a roadside bomb exploded in the middle of a crowd of Shiite Muslims in southeastern Baghdad on Monday, killing three and wounding 15, an Interior Ministry official told CNN. The strike, in the Zafaraniya district, is the latest in a flurry of attacks against pilgrims trekking to Karbala for al-Arbaeen, one of the holiest days of the Shiite religious calendar. It falls on Wednesday this year.

#2: An Iraqi militant group has posted a video on the internet showing the killings of 12 Nepalese men who worked for a Nepalese company with a US contract. In 2004, an Iraqi militant group killed 12 Nepali hostages who had gone to Iraq to work as cooks and cleaners for a Jordanian firm. It showed pictures of one being beheaded and the others with bullet wounds to the head and back.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has dismissed news reports of killing of 12 Nepali workers in Iraq by Islamic insurgents. MoFA spokesperson Hira Bahadur Thapa told Nepalnews that Nepali embassies in Islamabad and Saudi Arabia reported to the ministry, after being asked to find out the truth, that so far no proof had been found to corroborate the news.

#2: A traffic policeman was wounded when two improvised explosive devices went off simultaneously in downtown Baghdad, Baghdad operations command said on Monday. "Two roadside explosive charges detonated simultaneously on Muhammad al-Qasim highway while an Iraqi police patrol was passing the location, wounding a traffic cop who was close to the scene of the blast," a spokesman for the operations command, Major General Qassim Ata, told Aswat al-Iraq, Voices of Iraq,Around 12:30 p.m., two roadside bombs exploded at the Qasim highway near the Shaab stadium (east Baghdad).

Two people were injured in that incident.#3: Around 7:30 a.m., a roadside bomb exploded at Zafaraniyah neighborhood (east Baghdad) near Al-Noor mosque. No casualties recordedDiyala Prv:Baquba:

#1: Gunmen wearing Iraqi army uniforms stormed a house and killed a woman near Baquba, police said.

#2: Police found the decomposing bodies of eight women who had been blindfolded, handcuffed and shot in the head, in a grave in a town just north of Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

#3: "Unidentified gunmen killed two persons near a garage in central Baaquba," the source, who declined to reveal his name, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of IraqIskandariya:#1: (update) The death toll from Sunday's suicide bomb attack on Iraqi pilgrims heading to a Shi'ite festival south of Baghdad has risen to 63, a health official said on Monday.Basra:

#1: This morning, gunmen opened fire on three oil company guards at Bahadriya of Abu Al-Khaseeb, southeast of Basra. One guard was killed and the other two were seriously injured.

#2: Police found the body of the engineer Ali Mahmoud at Hamdan neighborhood in south Basra. Ali was kidnapped a month ago from his house at a residential compound by gunmen who were wearing police uniforms.Samarra:

#1: A disabled, wheelchair-bound man blew himself up on Monday in a northern Iraqi police station, killing a top police official and wounding six police officers, police told CNN. The attack, which occurred in Samarra in Salaheddin province. A high-ranking official with Samarra police said that the man came to meet with Brig. Gen. Abdul Jabbar Rabei Muttar, the deputy commander of security, at the security operations building in the city. The pair met last week as well. The man was searched when he entered the building, but police didn't look under his wheelchair seat, where the explosives had been placed. The man detonated the explosives when Muttar approached him.

In a separate attack on Monday, a handicapped man in a wheel chair wearing an explosives vest blew himself up inside a police building in the central city of Samarra, killing three policemen, including a general, officials said.Hawija:

#1: A civilian was killed and nine people were wounded (6 of them are Sahwa members including the leader of Sahwa Colonel Hussein Khalaf Ali and a commander of battalion in Sahwa) when a car bomb exploded targeting Sahwa members in Hawija town south of Kirkuk on Monday morning. Kirkuk:

#1: In the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, a police commander, General Sarhad Qadir, escaped an assassination attempt, according to security officials. A bomb went off as the general's motorcade was driving by the main hospital in central Kirkuk. In Kirkuk, police chief Brigadier Sarhad Qader escaped injury when a roadside explosive device detonated as his convoy passed, KUNA reported. Mosul:

#1: In the northern city of Mosul, three people from the same family including a child, and four women were injured in a blast. An object fell on a house in the Tal al-Roman area, in western Mosul, causing the blast, security sources told VOI. A mortar shell killed three and wounded four civilians.

#2: Also in Mosul, four policemen were killed in an attack by gunmen on their patrol in the eastern Muarid district, VOI reported.

THE THREE TRILLION DOLLAR IRAQ WAR

The cost of fighting the Iraq war is staggering, however most Americans haven't got a clue what it is costing to fight the war in Iraq.

It is costing the U.S. taxpayer 9 Billion dollars a month for the war in Iraq. It costs upwards of $400,000 for each soldier deployed to Iraq and the United States has 160,000 soldiers in Iraq.

The money to pay for the war is being borrowed and despite the enormous cost of the Iraq War the Bush administration has seen fit to lower taxes on the wealthiest Americans.

One of the worst aspects of the Iraq war has been the loss of nearly 4,000 young men and women who have been killed in Iraq with another almost 30,000 seriously wounded with injuries that will leave them disabled for life.

The cost of the Iraq war in human treasure and money is staggering and will leave Americans paying for the Iraq war for generations.

NO END IN SIGHT FOR RISING COSTS OF FIGHTING THE IRAQ WAR


By Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes, The Times of London UK

Posted on February 25, 2008, Printed on February 25, 2008

http://www.alternet.org/story/77663/

The Bush Administration was wrong about the benefits of the war and it was wrong about the costs of the war. The president and his advisers expected a quick, inexpensive conflict. Instead, we have a war that is costing more than anyone could have imagined.

The cost of direct US military operations -- not even including long-term costs such as taking care of wounded veterans -- already exceeds the cost of the 12-year war in Vietnam and is more than double the cost of the Korean War.

And, even in the best case scenario, these costs are projected to be almost ten times the cost of the first Gulf War, almost a third more than the cost of the Vietnam War, and twice that of the First World War.

The only war in our history which cost more was the Second World War, when 16.3 million U.S. troops fought in a campaign lasting four years, at a total cost (in 2007 dollars, after adjusting for inflation) of about $5 trillion. With virtually the entire armed forces committed to fighting the Germans and Japanese, the cost per troop (in today's dollars) was less than $100,000 in 2007 dollars. By contrast, the Iraq war is costing upward of $400,000 per troop.

Most Americans have yet to feel these costs.

The price in blood has been paid by our voluntary military and by hired contractors. The price in treasure has, in a sense, been financed entirely by borrowing. Taxes have not been raised to pay for it -- in fact, taxes on the rich have actually fallen.

Deficit spending gives the illusion that the laws of economics can be repealed, that we can have both guns and butter. But of course the laws are not repealed.

The costs of the war are real even if they have been deferred, possibly to another generation.

Click on link above to read the full story.

TWO U.S. SOLDIERS KILLED IN BAGHDAD

Two more U.S. soldiers have been killed in Baghdad following the announcement late last week of five U.S. soldiers killed in the Iraqi capital city.

Baghdad supposedly has been brought under control by "the surge," however a recent series of attacks on U.S. forces in Baghdad leave the question of the success of "the surge" seriously in doubt.

Two U.S. soldiers killed in Baghdad-army

Baghdad - Voices of Iraq
Monday , 25 /02 /2008 Time 10:43:00

Aswat Aliraq

Baghdad, Feb 25, (VOI)- The U.S. army, late on Sunday, said two service members were killed in two separate attacks in the Iraqi capital.

"A Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldier was killed when an improvised explosive device struck the Soldier’s vehicle during a combat patrol in northern Baghdad Feb. 24.," the U.S. army said in a statement received by Aswat al-Iraq- Voices of Iraq- (VOI).

In another press release, the U.S. army admitted the killing of a second soldier by small-arms fire during combat operations in southern Baghdad Feb. 24.

The deaths bring the number of the U.S. troops killed in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003 to 3,972 according to statistics released by the U.S. army.

Of this number, 28 U.S. soldiers have been killed so far in January 2008.

NAMES OF U.S. SOLDIERS KILLED IN IRAQ BUT NOT IN DOD COUNT OF GIS KILLED IN IRAQ

The Department of Defense (DoD) has often manipulated the deaths of soldiers and Marines in Iraq by listing them as combat related and non-combat related, and even went so far not long ago as claiming a soldier killed from behind was not a combat death.

But according to the Iraq Casualties org http://icasualties.org/oif/, the most reliable source for information on deaths of American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, the DoD has come up with new definitions for U.S. military personnel deaths that is even more misleading and baffling.

For example: A U.S. soldier killed in Baghdad on Feb. 24 is listed as a MNF-MND solider. MNF stands for Multi National Force, and MND stands for Multi-National Division.

The deceased was an AMERICAN soldier. Why not give him that much credit in his last full measure of devotion to the United States of America?

Also, there are names of FIVE U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq, but for some reason the DoD (Department of Defense) has not included their names in the official count of combat deaths in Iraq. Read the fine print under the list of five soldiers killed in Iraq.

Bill Corcoran, editor of CORKSPHERE, http://corksphere.blogspot.com/ the blog that dares to tell the truth about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

U.S. Deaths Confirmed By The DoD:
3969
Reported U.S. Deaths Pending DoD Confirmation:
2
Total
3971DoD Confirmation List

Latest Coalition Fatality: Feb 24, 2008
02/24/08 MNF: MND-B Soldier attacked by IED
A Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldier was killed when an improvised explosive device struck the Soldier’s vehicle during a combat patrol in northern Baghdad Feb. 24.

Post Iraq Deaths Not Confirmed By the DoD
Name
Date
Wasielewsk, Anthony Raymond
08-Oct-2007
Cassidy, Gerald J.
25-Sep-2007
Richards, Jack D.
29-Jul-2007
Salerno III, Raymond A.
16-Jul-2006
Smith, John "Bill"
01-Oct-2005Note: The soldiers listed above died from wounds received in Iraq, however, the DoD has not included their deaths in their official count.

IRAQ MARINE VET GETS TWO YEARS IN PRISON FOR KILLING INTRUDER

Elton John Richard, 30, was a decorated Marine who had fought in both Iraq wars and had been part of the 2003 rescue of Army Pvt. Jessica Lynch, but a district judge in Albuquerque sentenced the hero to two years in prison after he was found guilty of second degree manslaughter of killing an intruder who broke into his garage and then fled.

Richard was also ordered to pay restitution of $500 a month for the next four years.

Richard chased Daniel Romero, the intruder, and kept telling him to get down on the ground.

Richard, speaking publicly about the ordeal for the first time, said that Romero grabbed his gun and kept telling Richard that his friends were coming.

“The safety and security of myself, my son and my wife was compromised,” Richard said. “I didn’t have time to armchair quarterback it.”

Former Marine sentenced for killing intruder

The Associated PressPosted : Sunday Feb 24, 2008 9:09:58 EST

http://tinyurl.com/368tpx

ALBUQUERQUE — A district judge has sentenced a former Marine to two years in prison for fatally shooting an intruder who broke into his home and then fled.

Elton John Richard, 30, was a decorated Marine who had fought in both Iraq wars and had been part of the 2003 rescue of Army Pvt. Jessica Lynch. He had pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter after being charged with second-degree murder.

State District Judge Pat Murdoch also ordered Richard to pay restitution of $500 a month for four years.

Daniel Romero, 34, broke in to Richard’s garage in December 2004.

Richard, a Department of Energy nuclear materials courier with top security clearance, found Romero in his garage and chased him a quarter mile from his property before shooting him as he tried to climb a fence.

During the chase, Richard yelled at Romero to get on the ground and for neighbors to call 911, court documents said.

Prosecutor Theresa Whatley said all Romero did was try to get away.

“He should have been arrested and should have not been killed,” she said.

Richard, speaking publicly about the ordeal for the first time, said that Romero grabbed his gun and kept telling Richard that his friends were coming.

“The safety and security of myself, my son and my wife was compromised,” Richard said. “I didn’t have time to armchair quarterback it.”

U.S. SOLDIER KILLED IN BAGHDAD. 40 SHIITE PILGRIMS KILLED BY SUICIDE BOMBER NEAR BAGHDAD

A U.S. soldier was killed in Baghdad on Sunday and attacks were reported all across Iraq as the waves of violence escalate in the war torn country.

The mainstream media in the United States continues to ignore the mounting violence in Iraq which is both an injustice to the American public but an insult to the 160,000 U.S. troops deployed to Iraq.

In a BREAKING NEWS story 40 pilgrims were killed by a suicide bomber.

Suicide bomber kills 40 Shiite pilgrims in Iraq
by Abbas al-Ani1 hour, 1 minute ago

http://tinyurl.com/3cqy3

A suicide bomber blew himself up amid a crowd of Shiite pilgrims south of Baghdad on Sunday, killing at least 40 people, police and medical officials told AFP.

At least 60 people were also wounded in the blast in the town of Iskandiriyah, said Karim Al-Tamimi, a police lieutenant from the province of Babil.

"At around 3:00 pm, when pilgrims were eating their lunch inside the tent, a bomber blew himself up amid the crowd," said Tamimi.

Mohammed Al-Zaidi, of Babil province state health office, gave the same toll and said that at least 25 of those wounded were seriously injured.

A US military official confirmed the attack, but put the initial death toll at 25.

"The suicide bomber was wearing an explosives vest who detonated his explosives outside the Hateen Apartments, which is outside of Iskandiriyah," the official added.

The apartments are located on the route between the towns of Iskandiriyah and Musayyib in the region known as the "triangle of death."

The attack took place on a two-lane highway, the official said, adding that the casualties did not include any US military personnel.


U.S. SOLDIER KILLED BY ROADSIDE BOMB IN BAGHDAD

BaghdadOne U.S. soldier killed, three injured, in a roadside bombing in northern Baghdad. One civilian also injured. No further details at this time.Roadside bomb targeting a U.S. patrol injures five civilians in Hurriya.

Roadside bomb and gun attack on Shiite pilgrims kills 3, injures 36. McClatchy gives the total injured as 45, and apparently referring to the same attack, VoI gives the toll of injured as 46 but the confirmed death toll as only 1.

Two civilians injured by IED in Zafaraniyah, southeast Baghdad.Three bodies found dumped in various places.

IskandiriyahA suicide bomber struck a group of pilgrims on the highway to Karbala. AP, and other news services, give the death toll as 25. However, AFP gives the death toll as 40, with 60 injured, and says this number comes from both a local police lieutenant and the provincial health office.al-Hawija (south of Kirkuk)Car bomb attacking "Awakening Council" (Sahwa) members kills one, injures 10. The injured include Hussein Khalaf al-Juburi, the chief of the district’s Awakening Council, and his aide Sami Bakir.MosulIED attack on a bus kills two employees of the electricity ministry and injures three.A child is killed in the crossfire between U.S. forces and suspected "al Qaeda" gunmen, according to an Iraqi military spokesman.One killed, one wounded in a drive-by shooting. No info on the identity of the victims.

PARTY HOUSE, PROSTITUTES, PROFITEERING IN IRAQ: CHENEY TIES?

Who is KBR and what do they do in Iraq? And what was Vice President Dick Cheney's role in KBR and the contracts they landed for work in Iraq?

KBR, Inc. (formerly Kellogg Brown & Root) NYSE: KBR is an American engineering and construction company, formerly a subsidiary of Halliburton, based in Houston. After Halliburton acquired Dresser Industries in 1998, Dresser's engineering subsidiary, The M. W. Kellogg Co., was merged with Halliburton's construction subsidiary, Brown & Root, to form Kellogg Brown & Root. KBR and its predecessors have won many contracts with the U.S. military during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, as well as during World War II and the Vietnam War.

KBR is the largest [1] non-union construction company in the United States.

KBR employs more American private contractors and holds a larger contract with the U.S. government than does any other firm in Iraq. The company's roughly 14,000 U.S. employees in Iraq provide logistical support to the U.S. armed forces. [5]

The United States Army hired KBR to provide housing for approximately 100,000 soldiers in Iraq in a contract worth $200 million, based on a long-term contract signed in December 2001 under the Logistics Civil Augmentation Program (LOGCAP). Other LOGCAP orders have included a pre-invasion order to repair oil facilities in Iraq; $28.2 million to build POW camps; and $40.8 million to accommodate the Iraqi Survey Group, which was deployed after the invasion to find weapons of mass destruction.

The Army's actions came under fire from California Congressman Henry Waxman, who, along with Michigan Congressman John Dingell, asked the General Accounting Office to investigate whether the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Pentagon were circumventing government contracting procedures and favoring companies with ties to the Bush administration.

They also accused KBR of inflating prices for importing gasoline into Iraq.[6][7] In June 2003, the Army announced that it would replace KBR's oil-infrastructure contract with two public-bid contracts worth a maximum total of $1 billion, to be awarded in October. However, the Army announced in October it would expand the contract ceiling to $2 billion and the solicitation period to December.

As of October 16, 2003, KBR had performed nearly $1.6 billion worth of work. In the meantime, KBR has subcontracted with two companies to work on the project: Boots & Coots, an oil field emergency response firm that Halliburton works in partnership with (CEO Jerry L. Winchester was a former Halliburton manager) and Wild Well Control. Both firms are based in Texas.[8]

By Bill Corcoran, editor of CORKSPHERE, http://corksphere.blogspot.com/ a blog dedicated to bringing readers behind-the-scenes dealings and the latest unreported war news from Iraq and Afghanistan.

VICE PRESIDENT DICK CHENEY'S TIES TO KBR

Following the end of the first Gulf War, the Pentagon, led by then Defense Secretary Dick Cheney, paid Halliburton subsidiary Brown & Root Services over $8.5 million to study the use of private military forces with American soldiers in combat zones.[4]

Cheney was chairman and chief executive officer of Halliburton from 1995 to 2000. He has been accused of supporting the 2003 invasion of Iraq and providing work to KBR under contingency contracts to financially benefit himself and his business associates.

KBR'S INVOLVEMENT WITH PROSTITUTES AND PROFITEERING IN IRAQ

http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/02/party-house-pro.html

Stories of waste, fraud and abuse related to U.S. military contracts in Iraq are so "old news" that it takes something really awful to being shocking these days. Newly released court records related to the subcontractors operating under the KBR LOGCAP contract, provide just such shocking details. "On Wednesday, a federal judge in Rock Island sentenced the Army official, Chief Warrant Officer Peleti "Pete" Peleti Jr., to 28 months in prison for taking bribes," the Chicago Tribune reports. "One Middle Eastern subcontractor treated him to a trip to the 2006 Super Bowl, a defense investigator said."

Like all bribes, the payoffs ranged from the paltry to the outrageous:

In October 2002, five months before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, [Tamimi operations director Shabbir] Khan threw a birthday party for Seamans at a Tamimi "party house" near the Kuwait base known as Camp Arifjan. Khan "provided Seamans with a prostitute as a present," Rock Island prosecutors wrote in court papers. Driving Seamans back to his quarters, Khan offered kickbacks that would total $130,000.

Some of the dirty dealing got downright dirty:

The Army LOGCAP contract required KBR to medically screen the thousands of kitchen workers that subcontractors like Tamimi imported from impoverished villages in Nepal, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.

But when Pentagon officials asked for medical records in March 2004, Khan presented "bogus" files for 550 Tamimi workers, Assistant U.S. Atty. Jeffrey Lang said in a court hearing last year.

KBR retested those 550 workers at a Kuwait City clinic and found 172 positive for exposure to hepatitis A, Lang told the judge. Khan tried to suppress those findings, warning the clinic director that Tamimi would do no more business with his medical office if he "told KBR about these results," Lang said in court. The infectious virus can cause fatigue and other symptoms that arise weeks after contact.

And the list goes on ...

Click on link for the rest of the story.

DoD DATA ON LATEST U.S. CASUALTIES IN IRAQ

The Department of Defense website http://www.defenselink.mil/news/index.aspx contains the latest information of military deaths in Iraq.

SHELLS HIT BAGHDAD'S GREEN ZONE

At least 10 rockets and mortar shells were fired into Baghdad's Green Zone on Saturday in still another example that "the surge" is a myth and violence is on the rise all across Iraq.

The Green Zone is the home of Camp Victory where many of the 160,000 U.S. military forces deployed to Iraq are stationed.

It was not immediately known if there were any casualties to American military personnel.

In other developments in Iraq, suicide bombers struck both in Baghdad and Falluja the two cities supposedly a safe haven from insurgent attacks because of "the surge."

Adding to the chaos in Iraq, the Turkish Army has crossed into Kurdistan with 10,000 troops setting up a possible confrontation with American forces in that region of Iraq.

Meanwhile, the mainstream press in the United States continues to avoid reporting on developments in Iraq and when they do report on unfolding developments in Iraq they downplay them much like FOX NEWS does by saying these are isolated instances.

Nothing could be further from the truth and any news organization that claims what is happening in the Green Zone on Saturday and with suicide bombings in Baghdad and Falluja are "isolated instances" is not a new organziation but a propaganda branch of the Bush White House.

Commentary by Bill Corcoran, editor of CORKSPHERE, the ONLY blog that dares to tell the truth about the war in Iraq and not the sloppy reporting going on by the likes of FOX NEWS.


Shells hit Baghdad's Green Zone

Story Highlights
Mortars or rockets rain on secure area in Iraq capital, Pentagon says
Attack comes day after extension of Mehdi Army cease-fire
U.S. posts in Baghdad targeted four times this week, military says
Iraqi Journalists Union chief wounded in gun assault

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/02/23/iraq.main.ap/index.html

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- Rockets or mortars hit the U.S.-protected Green Zone early Saturday, the day after powerful Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered his Mehdi Army militia to extend its cease-fire by another six months.

Starting about 6:15 a.m., about 10 blasts could be heard in the sprawling area along the Tigris River that houses the U.S. and British embassies, the Iraqi government headquarters and thousands of American troops.

It was not immediately clear whether there were casualties.

Maj. Brad Leighton, a U.S. military spokesman, confirmed the Green Zone was hit by indirect fire -- the military's term for a rocket or mortar attack -- but could not immediately provide more details.

It was the fourth time this week that U.S. outposts in Baghdad appeared to be the targets of rocket or mortar attacks, killing at least six people and wounding both Iraqis and Americans, including at least two U.S. troops.

The flurry of attacks has followed a substantial lull in such assaults as security has increased and violence around the capital has dropped over the last half-year.

Earlier in the week, the U.S. military blamed Iranian-backed Shiite militias that have broken away from al-Sadr's block for the rocket attacks. Tehran denies that it sponsors extremists in Iraq.

THE MYTH OF "THE SURGE" IN IRAQ

There are two reasons why Americans are being misled by the so-called success of "the surge" in Iraq.

The first one is because the Bush Administration keeps putting out propaganda that "the surge" has been a big success in Baghdad and Falluja.

The second reason is because the mainstream media in the United States has bought into the Bush Administration smokescreen about "the surge" and no longer tells the truth about what is really happening in Baghdad, Falluja and other parts of Iraq.

National opinion polls in the United States reflect how the Bush Administration in concert with the mainstream media in the United States have shoved the Iraq War off the front burner and replaced it with the economy.

However, the success of "the surge" is all a myth and the people who are suffering most from the myth are the Iraqi citizens and 160,000 U.S. military stationed in Iraq who daily witness anything but a successful operation.

Rolling Stone sent a reporter into the heart of Iraq to get a firsthand look at the evolution "the surge."

What Nir Rosen of Rolling Stone reports is a shocking overview of how the U.S. military has been arming Iraqis who were once members of the insurgents fighting and killing U.S. forces.

But there is more. Much more. And it is a read that will leave you wondering what in the world is the Bush Administration and the U.S. military in Iraq thinking.

Commentary by Bill Corcoran, editor of CORKSPHERE, the blog that dares to bring readers the REAL TRUTH about the war in Iraq and not Bush Administration hype pushed on the American public by the likes of FOX NEWS.


The Myth of the Surge

Hoping to turn enemies into allies, U.S. forces are arming Iraqis who fought with the insurgents. But it's already starting to backfire. A report from the front lines of the new Iraq

NIR ROSEN

Posted Mar 06, 2008 8:53 AM

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/18722376/the_myth_of_the_surge

Page 1 2 3 4 5 6

Click here to see more photos taken by Danfung Dennis for this feature

It's a cold, gray day in December, and I'm walking down Sixtieth Street in the Dora district of Baghdad, one of the most violent and fearsome of the city's no-go zones.

Devastated by five years of clashes between American forces, Shiite militias, Sunni resistance groups and Al Qaeda, much of Dora is now a ghost town.

This is what "victory" looks like in a once upscale neighborhood of Iraq: Lakes of mud and sewage fill the streets. Mountains of trash stagnate in the pungent liquid. Most of the windows in the sand-colored homes are broken, and the wind blows through them, whistling eerily. House after house is deserted, bullet holes pockmarking their walls, their doors open and unguarded, many emptied of furniture. What few furnishings remain are covered by a thick layer of the fine dust that invades every space in Iraq. Looming over the homes are twelve-foot-high security walls built by the Americans to separate warring factions and confine people to their own neighborhood. Emptied and destroyed by civil war, walled off by President Bush's much-heralded "surge," Dora feels more like a desolate, post-apocalyptic maze of concrete tunnels than a living, inhabited neighborhood. Apart from our footsteps, there is complete silence.

My guide, a thirty-one-year-old named Osama who grew up in Dora, points to shops he used to go to, now abandoned or destroyed: a barbershop, a hardware store. Since the U.S. occupation began, Osama has watched civil war turn the streets where he grew up into an ethnic killing field. After the fall of Saddam, the Americans allowed looters and gangs to take over the streets, and Iraqi security forces were stripped of their jobs.

The Mahdi Army, the powerful Shiite paramilitary force led by the anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, took advantage of the power shift to retaliate in areas such as Dora, where Shiites had been driven from their homes. Shiite forces tried to cleanse the district of Sunni families like Osama's, burning or confiscating their homes and torturing or killing those who refused to leave.

"The Mahdi Army was killing people here," Osama says, pointing to a now-destroyed Shiite mosque that in earlier times had been a cafe and before that an office for Saddam's Baath Party. Later, driving in the nearby district of Baya, Osama shows me a gas station. "They killed my uncle here. He didn't accept to leave. Twenty guys came to his house, the women were screaming. He ran to the back, but they caught him, tortured him and killed him." Under siege by Shiite militias and the U.S. military, who viewed Sunnis as Saddam supporters, and largely cut out of the Shiite-dominated government, many Sunnis joined the resistance. Others turned to Al Qaeda and other jihadists for protection.

Now, in the midst of the surge, the Bush administration has done an about-face. Having lost the civil war, many Sunnis were suddenly desperate to switch sides — and Gen. David Petraeus was eager to oblige.

The U.S. has not only added 30,000 more troops in Iraq — it has essentially bribed the opposition, arming the very Sunni militants who only months ago were waging deadly assaults on American forces. To engineer a fragile peace, the U.S. military has created and backed dozens of new Sunni militias, which now operate beyond the control of Iraq's central government. The Americans call the units by a variety of euphemisms: Iraqi Security Volunteers (ISVs), neighborhood watch groups, Concerned Local Citizens, Critical Infrastructure Security. The militias prefer a simpler and more dramatic name: They call themselves Sahwa, or "the Awakening."

At least 80,000 men across Iraq are now employed by the Americans as ISVs. Nearly all are Sunnis, with the exception of a few thousand Shiites. Operating as a contractor, Osama runs 300 of these new militiamen, former resistance fighters whom the U.S. now counts as allies because they are cashing our checks.

The Americans pay Osama once a month; he in turn provides his men with uniforms and pays them ten dollars a day to man checkpoints in the Dora district — a paltry sum even by Iraqi standards. A former contractor for KBR, Osama is now running an armed network on behalf of the United States government. "We use our own guns," he tells me, expressing regret that his units have not been able to obtain the heavy-caliber machine guns brandished by other Sunni militias.

Click on link to ROLLING STONE: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/18722376/the_myth_of_the_surge
to read the full story.

THE NEW INVASION OF IRAQ

Turmoil in the Middle East continues to boil over as 10,000 Turkish troops have crossed the border and invaded the Kurdish region of Iraq.

Earlier today suicide bombers struck in Baghdad and Falluja Iraq as U.S. forces gear up for what looks like an increase in violence all across Iraq.

Meanwhile, Condoleeza Rice, U.S. Secretary of State, is calling on the UN to do something about Iran and the increase in their nuclear production capability.

The mainstream press in the United States continues to ignore the growing crisis in the Middle East but instead focus entirely on the presidential race.

The new invasion of Iraq

Up to 10,000 Turkish troops launch an incursion which threatens to destabilise the country's only peaceful region

By Patrick CockburnSaturday, 23 February 2008

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/the-new-invasion-of-iraq-786142.html

The invading Turkish soldiers are in pursuit of Kurdish guerrillas hiding in the mountains. They are seeking to destroy the camps of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) along the border between Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan. "Thousands of troops have crossed the border and thousands more are waiting at the border to join them if necessary," said a Turkish military source.

"There are severe clashes," said Ahmed Danees, the head of foreign relations for the PKK. "Two Turkish soldiers have been killed and eight wounded. There are no PKK casualties." Turkish television said that the number of Turkish troops involved was between 3,000 and 10,000, and they had moved 16 miles inside Iraq.

But the escalating Turkish attacks are destabilising the Kurdish region of Iraq which is the one peaceful part of the country and has visibly benefited from the US invasion.

The Iraqi Kurds are America's closest allies in Iraq and the only Iraqi community to support fully the US occupation. The president of the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government, Massoud Barzani, said recently he felt let down by the failure of the Iraqi government in Baghdad to stop Turkish bombing raids on Iraqi territory.

The incursion is embarrassing for the US, which tried to avert it, because the American military provides intelligence to the Turkish armed forces about the location of the camps of Turkish Kurd fighters. Immediately before the operation began, the Turkish Prime Minister, Tayyip Erdogan, called President George Bush to warn him.

The US and the Iraqi government are eager to play down the extent of the invasion. Rear Admiral Gregory Smith, a US spokesman for Iraq, said: "We understand [it] is an operation of limited duration to specifically target PKK terrorists in that region." The Iraqi Foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, claimed that only a few hundred Turkish troops were in Iraq.

But since last year Turkey has succeeded, by making limited incursions into Kurdistan, in establishing a de facto right to intervene militarily in Kurdistan whenever it feels like it.

Click on link above to read the full story.

SUICIDE BOMBERS STRIKE BAGHDAD, FALLUJA AS VIOLENCE ERUPTS IN IRAQ

The right wingers---especially the Bush Administration propaganda branch FOX NEWS---continue to LIE to the American public about the state of violence in Iraq.

If anything, violence is on rise all across Iraq and especially in Baghdad and Falluja, the two cities the Bush Administration and FOX NEWS claim are a sea of tranquility.

The right wing propagandists refuse to admit that conditions in Iraq are deteriorating as each day goes by, and in so doing the right wingers are not only insulting the American public but they are doing a great disservice to the brave young men and women serving in the United States military in Iraq.

Here is just a sampling of the VIOLENCE that took place Friday and early Saturday in Baghdad, Falluja and all across Iraq.

Does this look like Iraq is a "sea of tranquility?"

Commentary by Bill Corcoran, editor of CORKSPHERE, http://corksphere.blogspot.com/, the blog that will NOT become a part of the Bush Administration's LIES to the American public about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

BOMBS AND VIOLENCE HIT BAGHDAD, FALLUJA AND ALL OF IRAQ

http://warnewstoday.blogspot.com/

BAGHDAD - A car bomb blew up in Baghdad's central Karrada district, killing one person and wounding four.

BAGHDAD - A bomb killed at least one person and wounded four others in Karrada district, central Baghdad, police said. [From McClatchy: A donkey and cart abandoned in a market place behind the National Theater, near Hamurabi Hotel, central Baghdad were used to carry an IED which was detonated early this morning, killing one civilian, injuring four, and causing a lot of material damage to the surrounding stores.]

BAGHDAD - Five bodies were found in different districts across Baghdad on Thursday, police said.

Baghdad - Mahdi Army commander killed in Baghdad

NEAR BAQUBA - Three mortars landed in a village of Buhriz, 60 km (36 miles) north of Baghdad, killing one child and wounding eight people.

KHAN BANI SAD - U.S. forces killed six suspected al Qaeda militants and detained six others in Khan Bani Sad, 35 km (21 miles) north of Baghdad, the U.S. military said.

Khan Bani Sad - Diyala Gunmen attacked a family working in a field in Khan Beni Saad, 15 km to the south of Baquba at around 03:15 pm killing Omar Mohammed, 12 years and his two sisters Budur and Seleema, 17 and 20 years old.

Balad – U.S. soldiers wounded, vehicle destroyed by blast in Balad
Anbar - 3 policemen and 1 civilian killed as a suicide bomber detonates targeting the motorcade of Ameriyah Chief of Police, Major Saadoun Subhi in Ameriyat al-Falluja neibourhood, a suburb of Fallujah after Friday prayers this afternoon. The major himself was severely wounded.

ANBAR PROVINCE - One U.S. Marine was killed in a battle with gunmen in Anbar province on Thursday, the U.S. military said.

NEAR FALLUJA - A suicide bomber killed at least six policemen and wounded nine others when he detonated a vest packed with explosives outside a mosque near Falluja in western Anbar province, police said.

NEAR FALLUJA - A roadside bomb killed Brigadier-General Abdul Jabbar al-Juboury, head of the Iraqi army's Falluja Brigade, and his driver on Thursday south of Falluja, police said.

NEAR FALLUJA - A parked car bomb killed one man and wounded two others on Thursday near a market in Falluja, police said.

Fallujah - Suicide blast in Falluja mosque leaves 12 casualties Four people were killed and eight others wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself up amidst worshippers performing the Friday prayers at a mosque in southern Falluja, police said.

GARMA - A suicide bomber on foot attacked an Iraqi security checkpoint, killing two people and wounding three in Garma, near Falluja, 50 km (32 miles) west of Baghdad, police said.

Near Kirkuk - Truck driver wounded in explosion near Kirkuk

Diala Province – Gunmen kill three family members in Diala
TIKRIT - A suicide car bomber killed three policemen and wounded eight others at a police station in Tikrit, 175 km (110 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

Babel – Two corpses found in Babel

Mosul – 3 wounded in house bomb in Mosul

Mosul – 3 gunmen, suspect arrested in Mosul
ISKANDARIYA - Two bodies with gunshot wounds and signs of torture were found in Iskandariya, 40 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.

Basra – 4 British soldiers wounded in blasts in Basra

Basra – Basra airport closed because of Katyusha attacks

DOD RELEASES NAMES OF MORE U.S. CASUALTIES FROM IRAQ WAR

The Department of Defense has released the names of more U.S. casualties from the war in Iraq.

As usual, the mainstream press and the Bush White House puppet FOX NEWS continues to ignore the deaths of these brave young Americans despite the fact the names of U.S. casualties in Iraq are carried on the extremely reliable http://icasualties.org/oif/ web site.

Apparently FOX NEWS and others are too busy reporting on Drew Peterson, Britney Spears and the latest car chase somewhere in the United States to report on the deaths of American soldiers in Iraq.

Sad but so true the depths the media in the United States has sunk to, especially FOX NEWS, when celebrity gossip is more important than the deaths of young Americans in a war that never had to be fought in the first place.

Commentary by Bill Corcoran, editor of CORKSPHERE, http://corksphere.blogspot.com/, the blog that isn't afraid to tell the TRUTH about what is happening in Iraq and Afghanistan and how the mainstream media in the United States has let down 160,000 young Americans in Iraq.

U.S. Deaths Confirmed By The DoD:

3968
Reported U.S. Deaths Pending DoD Confirmation:
2
Total
3970DoD Confirmation List

Latest Coalition Fatality: Feb 21, 2008
02/22/08 DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Capt. Nathan R. Raudenbush, 25, of Pennsylvania, died Feb. 20 in Busayefi, Iraq, of wounds suffered when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team...

02/22/08 DoD Identifies Army Casualties (3 of 3)
Sgt. Conrad Alvarez, 22, of Big Spring, TX...assigned to the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division... died Feb. 20 in Baghdad, Iraq, from wounds suffered when their vehicle encountered an IED...

02/22/08 DoD Identifies Army Casualties (2 of 3)
Cpl. Albert Bitton, 20, of Chicago...assigned to the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division... died Feb. 20 in Baghdad, Iraq, from wounds suffered when their vehicle encountered an IED in Baghdad...

02/22/08 DoD Identifies Army Casualties (1 of 3)
Spc. Micheal B. Matlock, Jr., 21, of Glen Burnie, Md...assigned to the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division... died Feb. 20 in Baghdad, Iraq, from wounds suffered when their vehicle encountered an IED...

02/22/08 DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Staff Sgt. Bryant W. Mackey, 30, of Eureka, Kan., died Feb. 20 in Mosul, Iraq, of wounds suffered when a rocket-propelled grenade struck his vehicle. He was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Hood, Texas.

02/22/08 MNF: MND-B Soldier dies of non-combat related illness
A Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldier died as the result of a non-combat related illness Feb. 21. The Soldier’s name is being withheld pending notification of next-of-kin and release by the Department of Defense.

IRAQIS VIEW "SURGE" AS A CATASTROPHE

The Bush Administration and their propaganda branch, FOX NEWS, have been shouting from the rooftops about the success of "the surge," but Iraqi citizens have a completely different view of "surge."

Suicide bombings and violence continue all across Iraq in stark contrast to the claims of the Bush Administration and Fox News.

Many of the killings have taken place in the heavily guarded area of Baghdad, and they are increasing on a daily basis.


In Tatters Beneath a Surge of Claims

Inter Press Service

Analysis by Ali al-Fadhily and Dahr Jamail*

BAGHDAD, Feb 22 (IPS) - What the U.S. has been calling the success of a "surge", many Iraqis see as evidence of catastrophe. Where U.S. forces point to peace and calm, local Iraqis find an eerie silence

And when U.S. forces speak of a reduction in violence, many Iraqis simply do not know what they are talking about.

Hundreds died in a series of explosions in Baghdad last month. This was despite the strongest ever security measures taken by the U.S. military, riding the "surge" in security forces and their activities.

The death toll is high, according to the website http://icasualties.org/oif/which provides reliable numbers of Iraqi civilian and security deaths.

In January this year 485 civilians were killed, according to the website. It says the number is based on news reports, and that "actual totals for Iraqi deaths are higher than the numbers recorded on this site."

The average month in 2005, before the "surge" was launched, saw 568 civilian deaths. In January 2006, the month before the "surge" began, 590 civilians died.

Many of the killings have taken place in the most well guarded areas of Baghdad. And they have continued this month.

"Two car bombs exploded in Jadriya, killing so many people, the day the American Secretary of Defence (Robert Gates) was visiting Baghdad last week," a captain from the Karrada district police in Baghdad, speaking on condition of anonymity, told IPS.

"Another car bomb killed eight people and injured 20 Thursday (last week) in the Muraidy market of Sadr City, east of Baghdad.

Click on this link Inter Press Service to read complete story.

MARINE PROSECUTORS WANT UNAIRED CBS "60 MINUTES" FOOTAGE OF MARINE CHARGED IN DEATHS OF 24 IRAQI CIVILIANS IN HADITHA, IRAQ

Staff Sgt. Frank D. Wuterich , a United States Marine squad leader, “apparently admits in an unaired segment of the CBS "60 Minutes" program that he did, in fact, order his men to ‘shoot first and ask questions later,’” on November 19, 2005 when 24 Iraqi men, women and children were killed in Hadithah, Iraq.


CBS wants to quash a subpoena by military prosecutors requesting the unused footage claiming it would make the news gathering organization into an investigative arm of the government.


Wuterich is scheduled to be court-martialed March 3.


CBS seeks to quash subpoena for Hadithah interview


By Chelsea J. Carter - The Associated PressPosted : Friday Feb 22, 2008 7:23:43 EST


http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/02/ap_cbs_hadithah_080222/


CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — Military prosecutors say unaired footage of a CBS “60 Minutes” interview given by a Marine squad leader contain admissions of crimes in an attack that killed 24 Iraqi men, women and children in 2005.


Staff Sgt. Frank D. Wuterich “apparently admits in an unaired segment that he did, in fact, order his men to ‘shoot first and ask questions later,’” Capt. Nicholas Gannon said in response to a motion filed by CBS seeking to quash a subpoena seeking the footage.


CBS is set to ask a judge Friday to throw out the subpoena during a pre-trial hearing for Wuterich, who faces voluntary manslaughter and other charges in the Nov. 19, 2005, deaths in Hadithah, Iraq.


In its motion, CBS said the subpoena would be “unreasonable and oppressive,” and turn a news organization into an investigative arm of the government.


“This fishing expedition is particularly inappropriate given the numerous other sources of information concerning the events underlying this court-martial,” according to the motion obtained by The Associated Press.


The subpoena stems from an interview aired March 15, 2007, on “60 Minutes” entitled “The Killings at Haditha.”


In that interview, Wuterich recounted to CBS News correspondent Scott Pelley his recollection of the events that led to the deaths.


The deaths occurred after a roadside bomb hit a Marine convoy, killing the driver of a Humvee and wounding two other Marines. Wuterich and a squad member, Sgt. Sanick Dela Cruz, allegedly shot five men by a car at the scene. Wuterich then ordered his squad into several houses, where they cleared rooms with grenades and gunfire, killing unarmed civilians in the process.


The manslaughter charge against Wuterich, 27, of Meriden, Conn., includes specifications of a personal role in at least nine killings, naming seven victims plus one or more unknown people, and the allegation that he ordered a lance corporal to kill someone.


In the CBS motion, attorneys Lee Levine and Seth D. Berlin contend there have been multiple government investigations into the Hadithah incident, and numerous witnesses provided statements to investigators.


California has one of the nation’s most protective statutes shielding journalists from prosecutors’ inquiries. The law generally allows journalists to decline to divulge unpublished material to state authorities, but the protection does not extend to federal courts, which include military courts.


CBS says testimony is available from eyewitnesses, including members of Wuterich’s squad who are not being prosecuted.


But prosecutors, who have previously said squad members are “far from cooperative,” say it is apparent to them from Pelley’s narration that Wuterich made admissions in unaired footage.


In the response, Gannon writes that Pelley’s questions and his narration are apparently based on information Wuterich must have provided during the interview.


The network had no comment on the subpoena or the pending hearing, said Sandra Genelius, a spokeswoman for CBS News.


Four enlisted Marines were initially charged with murder in the case and four officers were charged with failing to investigate the deaths. Charges against four of the men have been dropped, and none will face murder charges.


Still facing court-martial are Lt. Col. Jeffrey R. Chessani, who is charged with dereliction of duty and violation of a lawful order on allegations that he mishandled the aftermath of the Hadithah shootings; and 1st Lt. Andrew Grayson, of Springboro, Ohio, on charges of making false official statements, obstruction of justice and attempting to fraudulently separate from the Marine Corps.
Wuterich is scheduled to be court-martialed March 3.

UNEMPLOYMENT IS AN EPIDEMIC IN IRAQ

You don't read about it or hear about it on television or radio, but the unemployment situation in Iraq is at epidemic levels.

The Coalition Provisional Authority was supposed to arrange for jobs for Iraqi citizens after the United States invaded and occupied Iraq, but it never came to pass.

Many Iraqi citizens have moved from town to town and city to city looking for work, but the reconstructions projects have been stalled and little work is available.

A good number of the younger Iraqi men have joined the Iraqi security forces where they can at least earn a paycheck, but there is little or no enthusiasm for cracking down on insurgents and militias.

Baghdad, the capital city of Iraq, is without water and electricity for the better part of each day, and although many of the stores have reopened shopkeepers report there is little traffic because Iraqi citizens can't find jobs and consequently don't have the money to shop.

Bill Corcoran, editor of CORKSPHERE, http://corksphere.blogspot.com/, the blog for the untold stories about Iraq and Afghanistan.

Unemployment Too Becomes an Epidemic

Inter Press ServiceBy Ahmed Ali and Dahr Jamail*

http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41284

BAQUBA, Feb 21 (IPS) - For a few, salaries have soared. For the rest, unemployment has.

Many Iraqi workers enjoyed huge salary increases following the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003. But unemployment rose more sharply under policies introduced by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA).

CPA head L. Paul Bremer decommissioned the Iraqi military, leading to overnight unemployment for hundreds of thousands of military personnel. And that was not all. The ministries of culture and information also saw drastic layoffs, some through privatisation.
Almost a year into the occupation, defence ministry employees, many of them ex-military, started to receive monthly payments of about 100 dollars as "donation of emergency".

"This payment does not meet 10 percent of the monthly needs of many families," ex-soldier in the previous Iraq army Muhsin Aboud told IPS in Baquba, 40 km northeast of Baghdad. "It's unfair to leave us without jobs."

Still, the unemployed are lucky. Many employees of the abolished offices were accused of being terrorists, and imprisoned.

"One day, a group of American soldiers stormed into my house while I and my family were sleeping," Abd al-Joburi, an officer in Iraq's former military told IPS. "They tied my hands and put a plastic bag on my head and forced me to lie with my face down. It was because I'm an ex-officer, and Sunni."

Al-Joburi was imprisoned for nine months after the raid that took place in March of last year. "Nobody asked whether my family have any salary or income. Since I was released, I have not had a job."

Now, the sectarian practices of politicians and the government are adding to unemployment for whole sections of people, particularly Sunni Muslims.

"I applied for a job in the directorate-general of police of Diyala province four times," a former intelligence officer told IPS. "All of my applications were rejected. All the Shia ex-officers' applications were accepted, regardless of their experience and specialisation. Now they are officers in the police and army."

The ex-officer added, "I am now working as a grocer."

Violence has made unemployment even worse; it has led large numbers of people to quit the jobs they had. Most people in Baquba are today either forced to stay at home, or to leave the city, and if they can, the country.

"I closed my restaurant," said a local businessman in Baquba. "Two militants came and killed the owner of the shop next to my restaurant. We had no choice."

"The owners of prominent shops, restaurants, car shops, rich people, heads of the offices, owners of buildings, traders, businessmen…all of them became targets of the militants," said a resident, who like many others, did not wish to give his name. "As a result, all of them quit. Just think how many people could be employed in all these fields."

Meanwhile, reconstruction and rehabilitation projects that could have employed some people have come to a standstill.

"I dismissed more than 50 employees in my company because of the stoppage of work," a manager with the Dolphin company for general contractors told IPS. "Work has stopped for more than two years."

The owner of a plastic pipes factory said threats forced him to close his factory. "I received a message asking me to pay 50,000 dollars, or I would be killed."

Unemployment in Iraq has been between 60-70 percent over the last two years, according to the government in Baghdad. This is nearly twice what it was in the period of the sanctions in the 1990s.

Most worrying is what is happening in the food business. The Diyala Food Company, the largest in the province, closed last year.

"A group of militants came to kidnap the owner's son," former employee Aziz Khamis told IPS. "The son and two of his bodyguards were killed, and the father was wounded. This big company has closed its doors, and thousands of employees are now stuck at home."

The reasons for losing jobs are endless. "I was fired for being a member of the Ba'ath party," Nasir Uwayid told IPS. "After a period of occupation, low ranking members were allowed to get their jobs again, but heads of offices who were members of the party were forced to retire or leave the city."

And sectarian displacement has brought its own unemployment. Tens of thousands of people have left their homes and jobs in Baquba because of the sectarian violence. Many have tried to start again in other cities, but few have been successful.

In 2002 Baquba had a population estimated at 280,000; in 2003, Diyala province had a population of roughly 1.2 million. Baquba is roughly 70 percent Sunni, while Diyala province is about 90 percent Sunni.

(*Ahmed, our correspondent in Iraq's Diyala province, works in close collaboration with Dahr Jamail, our U.S.-based specialist writer on Iraq who travels extensively in the region)

U.S. DEATHS IN IRAQ LISTED AS MULTI NATIONAL DIVISION BY DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

The Department of Defense now lists U.S casualties in Iraq as MND (Multi National Division) rather than what branch of the U.S. military they were assigned to.

It is all part of the Bush Administration's effort to hide from the American public as much as possible the deaths of young American men and women in Iraq.

Here is how the Iraq casualty reports are now being listed:

http://icasualties.org/oif/

U.S. Deaths Confirmed By The DoD:

3963
Reported U.S. Deaths Pending DoD Confirmation:
5
Total
3968DoD Confirmation List

Latest Coalition Fatality: Feb 20, 2008

02/21/08 MNF: Multi-National Division – Center Soldier attacked by IED
A Multi-National Division – Center Soldier was killed when the Soldier’s vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device Feb. 20. The name of the deceased is being withheld pending notification of the next of kin.

02/20/08 MNF: MND-N Soldiers attacked in Ninevah Province - 1 killed, 3 wounded
A Multi-National Division - North Soldier was killed as a result of injuries sustained from a rocket propelled grenade attack while conducting patrols in Mosul. Three Soldiers were also wounded and transported to a Coalition medical facility...

02/20/08 MNF: MND-B Soldiers attacked by IED - 3 killed
Three Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers were killed at approximately 10:30 p.m. Feb. 19 when their vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device in northwestern Baghdad.

CNN REPORTS IRAQ WILL ROUND UP HOMELESS, MENTALLY ILL IN ATTEMPT TO STOP SUICIDE BOMBINGS

Suicide bombings in Iraq are on the rise and the Iraqi government is going to take a draconian measure and round up all the homeless and mentally ill and place them in government institutions.

What is interesting is how the mainstream media in the United States has been avoiding coverage of the war in Iraq except for "puff pieces" on how well "the surge" has been doing.

The mainstream press in the U.S. are shunning coverage of the Iraq war, but the foreign press, especially the press in the Middle East, have been reporting daily on the increase of suicide bombers, many of them women and young girls who suffer from mental problems.

This CNN story, along with a list of suicide bombings in recent days, is being carried on CORKSPHERE, http://corksphere.blogspot.com/, a blog by Bill Corcoran which covers the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan no longer covered by the mainstream press in the United States.

Bill Corcoran, editor of CORKSPHERE

Iraq to round up homeless, mentally ill, to prevent bombings

From Mohammed TawfeeqCNN

http://tinyurl.com/2ycmnv

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraqi authorities plan to round up homeless and mentally ill residents on streets across the war-torn nation to prevent them from becoming used as suicide bombers, an Interior Ministry official said.

The move follows a pair of high-profile February 1 bombings that left almost 100 people dead.

The bombers, who hit a Baghdad pet market, were mentally handicapped women and the explosives strapped to their bodies were detonated by remote control, said U.S. and Iraqi authorities.

Police will hand beggars, vagrants and the mentally handicapped over to governmental institutions that can provide them with shelter and care, a high-ranking official in the interior minister's office said.

The campaign is scheduled to be launched Wednesday and is expected to last for at least a week, the official said.

"Militant groups, like al Qaeda in Iraq, have started exploiting these people in a very bad manner to kill innocents because they do not raise suspicions," Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf told The Associated Press.

"These groups are either luring those who are desperate for money to help them in their attacks or making use of their poor mental condition to use them as suicide bombers."

The U.S. military reported last week that al Qaeda in Iraq recruited female patients from Baghdad's two psychiatric hospitals, with the help of hospital staff, for suicide missions. It is unclear whether the women understood what they were doing. Watch how using women may represent a new tactic »

American troops arrested the acting administrator of one of the hospitals after the February 1 attack, announcing an unspecified link between the man and the bombers.

And Sunday, three civilians died and 10 people, including a police officer, were wounded when a female beggar blew herself up inside an electronics store in central Baghdad, according to another Interior Ministry official.

The official said Iraqi police suspect the woman was wearing an explosive vest and tried to warn the people around her, but she ran into the store and detonated it.

Meanwhile, Iraqi authorities are investigating another deadly blast Tuesday.
A truck loaded with rockets exploded as Iraqi police tried to defuse them, killing at least 15 officers and wounding 27, an Interior Ministry official said.

Police found the truck parked in the eastern Baghdad neighborhood of al-Obeidi, a Shiite Muslim district, after a rocket attack on a nearby U.S. military post, the official said.

A number of bomb disposal experts were among the dead and wounded, the official said.
Rocket and mortar attacks remain common in Baghdad despite a marked reduction in the level of sectarian killings over the past year.

Rocket attacks around Camp Victory -- a major U.S. base at Baghdad's airport -- left five Iraqis dead and 16 people wounded, including two U.S. soldiers and at least six children.

U.S. and Iraqi troops detained six people for questioning and recovered an unexploded rocket after the attack.

MAKING IRAQ DISAPPEAR: HOW THE MEDIA PLAYED A MAJOR ROLE

The mainstream media in the United States has been complicit in helping make the Iraq War disappear from the front pages and from television newscasts.

Tom Englehardt, http://www.tomdispatch.com/, accurately points out the mainstream media has gone along with the Bush administration and buried all the news coming out of Iraq except to sing the praises of "the surge."

The PR blitz by the Bush White House in concert with the mainstream media in the United States has been a roaring success because no longer is the Iraq War uppermost on the minds of the American public according to all national public opinion polls even though the U.S. still has 160,000 troops in Iraq.

So while the mainstream press, especially the Bush White House propaganda machine, FOX NEWS, have been hailing the success of "the surge," there have been countless suicide bombings and other acts of violence going on every single day in Iraq but nobody is covering it anymore.

The average American thinks Iraq is now a sea of tranquility because they don't read or see anything about Iraq in the media.

Nothing, of course, could be further from the truth as Engelhardt points out in his article.

Commentary by Bill Corcoran, editor of CORKSPHERE, http://corksphere.blogspot.com/, the blog that reveals the truth about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan sans Bush White House and FOX NEWS spin.

Making Iraq Disappear

The Million Year War

How Never to Withdraw from Iraq

By Tom Engelhardt

http://www.tomdispatch.com/
Think of the top officials of the Bush administration as magicians when it comes to Iraq. Their top hats and tails may be worn and their act fraying, but it doesn't seem to matter.

Their latest "abracadabra," the President's "surge strategy" of 2007, has still worked like a charm. They waved their magic wands, paid off and armed a bunch of former Sunni insurgents and al-Qaeda terrorists (about 80,000 "concerned citizens," as the President likes to call them), and magically lowered "violence" in Iraq.

Even more miraculously, they made a country that they had already turned into a cesspool and a slagheap -- its capital now has a "lake" of sewage so large that it can be viewed "as a big black spot on Google Earth" -- almost entirely disappear from view in the U.S.

Of course, what they needed to be effective was that classic adjunct to any magician's act, the perfect assistant. This has been a role long held, and still played with mysterious willingness, by the mainstream media.

There are certainly many reporters in Iraq doing their jobs as best they can in difficult circumstances.

When it comes to those who make the media decisions at home, however, they have practically clamored for the Bush administration to put them in a coffin-like box and saw it in half. Thanks to their news choices, Iraq has for months been whisked deep inside most papers and into the softest sections of network and cable news programs.

Only one Iraq subject has gotten significant front-page attention: How much "success" has the President's surge strategy had?

Before confirmatory polls even arrived, the media had waved its own magic wand and declared that Americans had lost interest in Iraq. Certainly the media people had.

The economy -- with its subprime Hadithas and its market Abu Ghraibs -- moved to center stage, yet links between the Bush administration's two trillion dollar war and a swooning economy were seldom considered. It mattered little that a recent Associated Press/Ipsos poll revealed a majority of Americans to be convinced that the most reasonable "stimulus" for the U.S. economy would be withdrawal from Iraq. A total of 68% of those polled believed such a move would help the economy.

Anyone tuning in to the nightly network news can now regularly go through a typical half-hour focused on Obamania, the faltering of the Clinton "machine," the Huckabee/McCain face-off on Republican Main Street, the latest nose-diving market, and the latest campus shooting without running across Iraq at all. Cable TV, radio news, newspapers -- it makes little difference.

The News Coverage Index of the Project for Excellence in Journalism illustrates that point clearly. For the week of February 4-10, the category of "Iraq Homefront" barely squeaked into tenth place on its chart of the top-ten most heavily covered stories with 1% of the "newshole." First place went to "2008 Campaign" at 55%. "Events in Iraq" -- that is, actual coverage of and from Iraq -- didn't make it onto the list. (The week before, "Events in Iraq" managed to reach #6 with 2% of the newshole.)

True, you can go to Juan Cole's Informed Comment website, perhaps the best daily round-up of Iraqi mayhem and disaster on the Web, and you'll feel as if, like Alice, you had fallen down a rabbit hole into another universe. ("Two bombings shook Iraq Sunday morning. In the Misbah commercial center in the upscale Shiite Karrada district, a female suicide bomber detonated a belt bomb, killing 3 persons and wounding 10… About 100 members of the Awakening Council of Hilla Province have gone on strike to protest the killing of three of them by the U.S. military at Jurf al-Sakhr last Sunday, in what the Pentagon says was an accident… Al-Hayat reports in Arabic that officials in Baqubah are warning that as families are returning to the city, they could be forced right back out again, owing to sectarian tensions...") But how many Americans read Juan Cole every day... or any day?

On that media homefront, the Bush administration has been Houdini-esque. Left repeatedly locked in chains inside a booth full of water, George W. Bush continues to emerge to declare that things are going swimmingly in Iraq:

"…80,000 local citizens stepped up and said, we want to help patrol our own neighborhoods; we're sick and tired of violence and extremists. I'm not surprised that that happens. I believe Iraqi moms want the same thing that American moms want, and that is for their children to grow up in peace…

The surge is working. I know some don't want to admit that, and I understand. But the terrorists understand the surge is working. Al Qaeda knows the surge is working…"
Having pulled the "surge" rabbit out of his hat -- even stealing the very word out of the middle of "insurgent" -- Bush then topped that trick by making Iraq go away for weeks, if not months, on end. Talk about success!

Click on link to read full story.

IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN SEVERELY STRAINS U.S. MILITARY, OFFICER SAYS

There are only so many rotations our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan can take before it breaks the back of the military.

There are many officers who feel something has to be done about the strain that is being put on the military---especially the Army and Marines---who are bogged down in two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The time has come for the mainstream media in the United States to come out of their self-imposed exile on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and start telling the American public the truth about what is happening to our troops in both war theaters.

Commentary by Bill Corcoran, editor of CORKSPHERE.

US military severely strained, officers say

http://www.atimes.com

WASHINGTON - The US military is "severely strained" by two large-scale occupations in the Middle East, other troop deployments, and recruiting problems, according to a new survey of military officers published by Foreign Policy magazine and the centrist think-tank Center for a New American Strategy.

"They see a force stretched dangerously thin and a country ill-prepared for the next fight," said the report, "The US Military Index", which polled 3,400 current and former high-level military officers.

Sixty percent of the officers surveyed said that the military is weaker now than it was five years ago, often citing the number of troops deployed to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"We ought to pay more attention to quality," said retiredLieutenant General Gregory Newbold, who retired from the Joint Chiefs of Staff in part over objections to the invasion of Iraq, at a panel during a conference to release the data.

Go back to link to read the full story.

USE OF WOMEN AND MENTALLY RETARDED CHILDREN AS SUICIDE BOMBERS INCREASES IN IRAQ

One thing that has the Iraqi and U.S. military worried is the use of women and mentally retarded people in a series of recent attacks carried out by al-Qaida in Iraq.

Rear Adm. Gregory Smith, a U.S. military spokesman, said Wednesday that two women used as suicide bombers in attacks against two pet markets in Baghdad earlier this month had undergone psychiatric treatment, though nothing in their records showed they had Down syndrome, as initially suggested.

He said the women had been positively identified as residents from the northeastern outskirts of Baghdad who were in their late 20s or early 30s.

The Iraqi claim that mentally disabled women were used in the Feb. 1 pet market bombings that killed nearly 100 people was met initially with skepticism.

The mainstream media in the United States continues to ignore the FACT that attacks are increasing in Iraq, especially those aimed at the United States Marines and United States Army.

The Marine Corps Times http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/02/ap_Iraq_ceasefire_080220/
is reporting there is a great deal of concern among military commanders in Iraq that the bottom is falling out of the calm that has established by "the surge" in Iraq.

Also, firebrand anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr raised the possibility Wednesday that he may not renew a six-month cease-fire widely credited for helping slash violence.

Earlier on Wednesday rockets were fired into U.S. positions around Baghdad injuring four U.S. Army soldiers and killing an Iraqi police chief and 15 Iraqi policemen.

The Bush Administration and their puppet mouthpiece are not doing the American public justice, nor are they being honest with the 160,000 American men and women stationed in Iraq, when they continually insist that Iraq is becoming more and more peaceful.

Suicide bombings are on the increase in Baghdad and all across Iraq and bodies of Iraqi citizens are found everyday in parts of Iraq.

Adding to the instability of Iraq is the fact the Iraqi government can't seen to come to any progress with the benchmarks that were putdown by the Bush administration and the Iraqi government, such as it is.

Commentary by Bill Corcoran, editor of CORKSPHERE, http://corksphere.blogspot.com/, the blog that captures what is REALLY happening in Iraq and Afghanistan and not "pep talks" by the Bush administration and FOX NEWS.

ATTACKS IN IRAQ ARE INCREASING ACCORDING TO THE MARINE CORPS TIMES

By Patrick Quinn - The Associated PressPosted : Wednesday Feb 20, 2008 14:31:40 EST

http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/02/ap_Iraq_ceasefire_080220/

BAGHDAD — With deadly attacks against American targets increasing around Baghdad, firebrand anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr raised the possibility Wednesday that he may not renew a six-month cease-fire widely credited for helping slash violence.

Rear Adm. Gregory Smith, a U.S. military spokesman, blamed a flurry of rocket attacks on Iranian-backed Shiites — including one on Monday against an Iraqi housing complex near the country’s main U.S. military base that killed at least five people and wounded 16, including two U.S. soldiers.

“These criminals launched 16 rockets in the direction of Baghdad International Airport, West Rashid and the Victory Base Complex,” he said, adding that they were “apparently unconcerned where these rockets would land and explode.”

He said that attack and others were carried out by “Iranian-backed Special Group criminals,” a term often used to describe groups that have either splintered away from al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army or refused to respect the cease-fire he declared last August.

Iraqi police held funerals for 14 officers killed Tuesday night as they responded to a rocket attack launched from a predominantly Shiite neighborhood against U.S. posts in the capital.

The U.S. military has angered some Sadrist factions by carrying out raids against what it describes as Iranian-backed breakaway factions of the Mahdi Army militia. There have been numerous calls from within the militia and its political wing to call off the cease-fire.

The cease-fire has been a key element in a three-piece puzzle that has come together to help reduce violence around by more than 60 percent since June — and by nearly 80 percent in Baghdad. The other two elements are the influx of thousands of U.S. troops last summer, and the creation of a Sunni-dominated force funded by the U.S. military to fight al-Qaida in Iraq.

“Al-Sayyid Muqtada al-Sadr’s cease-fire has been helpful in reducing violence and has led to improved security in Iraq. We would welcome the extension of the cease-fire as a positive step,” Smith told The Associated Press, using an honorific reserved for descendants of the Prophet Muhammad.

Sheik Salah al-Obeidi, a spokesman for al-Sadr in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, said that if the cleric failed to issue a statement by Saturday saying the cease-fire was extended, “then that means the freeze is over.”

On an Internet site representing al-Sadr, al-Obeidi said that al-Sadr “either will announce the extension or will stay silent and not announce anything. If stays silent, that means that the freeze is over.”

Al-Obeidi told The AP that message “has been conveyed to all Mahdi Army members nationwide.”

There are fears, especially among Sunnis, that any return to active service by the Mahdi Army could put Iraq back where it was just a year ago — in chaos and on the brink of a civil war.

“The drop in violence and the quiet which Baghdad witnesses is a clear evidence that this militia was behind all the chaos in the past,” Sunni parliament member, Asmaa al-Dulaimi, told the AP.

She said a lifting the cease-fire “will affect national reconciliation and will further deteriorate the security situation nationwide. Resuming their activities, whether against the government or civilians, will lead to a new confrontation with them.”

Smith said that under current conditions, violence was still dropping. He said the number of civilian deaths in Baghdad had fallen from 1,087 men, women and children killed in February 2007 to 178 in the first month of this year.

He also said the number of execution-style killings carried out by so-called sectarian death squads had dropped some 95 percent, from 800 in February 2007 to below 40 so far this month.

The number of suicide attacks, meanwhile, went from 12 a month last year to just four in January, and the number of roadside bombings was down more than 45 percent in the year since the U.S.-Iraqi operation began, he said.

“While the progress has been significant, we all know Baghdad is not safe from al-Qaida and other extremists,” Smith said.


Meanwhile, three Iraqi children were killed and seven others wounded when they were hit by an insurgent mortar attack while playing soccer outside a military supply area on Tuesday near Balad, the military said.

And in Diyala province north of Baghdad, where U.S. and Iraqi forces are working to push out al-Qaida in Iraq, a suicide bomber killed seven people and wounded 17, said an official in the provincial command operation center. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to release the information.

FOUR U.S. SOLDIERS INJURED IN ROCKET ATTACK ON BAGHDAD

The insurgents in Iraq are stepping up their attacks on U.S. forces stationed in the "Green Zone" in Baghdad and at military outposts around Baghdad.

Four U.S. soldiers have been injured in the latest wave of attacks with insurgents using rockets and mortars which they fire into the heavily fortified U.S. military positions in and around Baghdad.

The attacks also killed an Iraqi police chief and and 15 other Iraqi policemen as well as injuring 30.

Reported by Bill Corcoran, editor of this blog dedicated to the 160,000 men and women serving in the U.S. military in Iraq.

http://tinyurl.com/2shbej

At least 15 Iraqi policemen have been killed and nearly 30 people injured after rockets that were set for launch exploded before they could be defused.

The explosions came after two rockets were fired at US outposts in Baghdad - the second such attack in as many days - injuring four US soldiers.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks but officials say they were apparently launched from Shia strongholds in the capital, raising concern about renewed activity ahead of a deadline for the anti-US cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to renew a ceasefire order.
Last august, al-Sadr ordered his al-Mahdi Army fighters to stand down for six months, but recently warned that he may not extend the ceasefire if raids against his supporters continued.

The US military has expressed hope that al-Sadr will extend the ceasefire but continues to target what it says are Iranian-backed breakaway factions in raids that have alienated his followers.

Tip-off

Iraqi police acting on a tip-off found the rockets primed for launch in the back of a truck in Obeidi in eastern Baghdad.

Explosives experts were trying to defuse the rockets when two of them detonated in quick succession.

Police confirmed that another two rockets had already been fired.

Iraqi government officials, police and medical workers said at least 27 people were wounded in the blast, but the US military gave a lower toll of three civilians killed and 17 wounded in the explosion.

A day earlier, at least five people were killed and more than a dozen wounded in a rocket attack on an Iraqi housing area near the Baghdad international airport and a nearby US military base.

Two US soldiers were also wounded in Monday's strikes, with US troops arresting six Iraqi suspects around the launch sites.

Iraqi police said the rockets were launched from Amil, a predominantly Shia neighbourhood southwest of the capital.

MORE SUICIDE BOMBINGS IN BAGHDAD AND OTHER IRAQI CITIES

Suicide bombings in Iraq are increasing as U.S. forces battle the elements and a new wave of attacks all across Iraq, including Baghdad.

Dust storms have prevented U.S. forces from going on patrol, but it hasn't stopped the suicide bombers who use the dust storms for cover as they carry out their missions.

All across Iraq the wave of violence is escalating, but still the mainstream press in the United States looks the other way.

General David Petraeus, head of U.S. forces in Iraq, has said the drawdown of troops will be delayed because of the increased security problems all across Iraq.

Below are just a few of the incidents which took place Wednesday in Baghdad and other Iraqi cities.

Bill Corcoran, editor of this blog devoted to telling the truth about the Iraq war and not Bush White House spin or propaganda from FOX NEWS.


Suicide bombing kills 7, injures 17 in Muqdadiya

http://tinyurl.com/2xug65


Muqdadiya, Feb 20, (VOI)- At least seven civilians were killed and 17 more were wounded on Wednesday when a suicide bomber blew himself up in central Muqdadiya, a security source said.
“A bomber blew up an explosive belt strapped to his body in al-Asri neighborhood in central Muqdadiya, northeast of Baaquba, killing seven and injuring 17,” the source, who asked anonymity, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq (VOI).Muqdadiya is 45 km northeast of Baaquba, the capital of Diala, which lies 57 km northeast of Baghdad.


#1: A dust storm that has gripped much of Iraq for the last two days kept police from identifying a booby trap that set off the initial explosion, he said. The storms, which shut down the capital's airport and sent dozens of Baghdad residents to hospitals with breathing difficulties, were expected to abate Thursday.Heavy sandstorms blanketed much of Iraq for a second day Wednesday, shutting down the capital's airport and sending dozens of Baghdad residents to hospitals with breathing difficulties. Southern Basra was also affected, as was the northern city of Kirkuk.

#2: In yet more violence, Samir al-Attar, deputy minister of Iraq's Ministry of Science and Technology, was wounded Wednesday when two roadside bombs detonated near his convoy about a minute apart as he was driving through Baghdad, according to police and ministry officials. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't allowed to release the information.Two of al-Attar's guards and three civilian bystanders were injured, the officials said on condition of anonymity, as they were not authorized to release the information.

#3: Three Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers were killed at approximately 10:30 p.m. Feb. 19 when their vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device in northwestern Baghdad.

#4: Two civilians were injured on Wednesday when an explosive charge went off in central Baghdad, a police source said. “An improvised explosive device went off near al-Shaab international Stadium in central Baghdad, wounding two civilians,” the source, who wished to remain anonymous, told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq

#5: Around 1 p.m., a car bomb was parked at the main street of Ghazaliyah neighborhood ( in west Baghdad) near the Kamal market. One civilian was killed and two were injured.Diyala Prv:Muqdadiyah:

#1: Ten people were killed when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives in a market near the restive city of Baquba north of Baghdad on Wednesday, an Iraqi army officer said. "A suicide bomber wearing an explosives belt blew himself up in the market of Muqdadiyah, killing at least 10 people and wounding 15 others," General Ragheb al-Omayri told AFP.Samarra:

#1: Two would-be suicide bombers wearing explosives vests were killed by members of a neighbourhood security patrol as they tried to approach their checkpoint on Tuesday in the city of Samarra, 100 km (60 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.Tikrit:

#1: Two Iraqi soldiers and two civilians were wounded when a roadside bomb exploded near an Iraqi army patrol near the town of Tikrit, 175 km (110 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.Dalouiya:

#1: Three policemen were injured on Wednesday in a bomb explosion near their vehicle patrol east of Dalouiya, a police source said“A roadside bomb was detonated targeting a police vehicle patrol near Peshiktin village, east of Dalouiya, wounding three policemen,” the source, who asked not to be named, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of IraqNinevah Prv:Mosul:

#1: In other violence in Iraq, four policemen were killed while on patrol in the main northern city of Mosul, a police officer said.Gunmen killed three policemen and wounded three others when they attacked their patrol in a drive-by shooting in the city of Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.Tal Afar:

#1: And a suicide bomber blew up his vehicle in the town of Tal Afar, which lies west of Mosul towards the Syrian border, killing one woman and wounding eight other people, General Najim al-Juburi and doctor at the local hospital said.Al Anbar Prv:

#1: U.S. forces searching for al Qaeda in Iraq fighters on Tuesday discovered 16 bodies, most killed within the past three to six months, U.S. Army officials said. The bodies were uncovered as troops searched an abandoned industrial chemical storage site in the western Iraqi desert. A 3-day-old operation in pursuit of al Qaeda in Iraq yielded signs of insurgent activity, but no fighters. Afghanistan:

#1: Militants have abducted two staff of education department in Afghanistan's western Farah province, said a press release of Afghan Interior Ministry received here Wednesday. Two supervisors of the Education Department of Farah province, busy in visiting schools in Bakwa district, was kidnapped by armed men of militant leader Mullah Ibrahim, on Feb. 18, the ministry said.

#2: A journalist who brought news to Canadian television has been detained without charge at a U.S. base in Afghanistan for almost four months, his employer says, calling for his immediate release. Javed Yazamy, 22, earned the nickname Jojo while serving as a translator for the U.S. forces but spent the past two years working primarily for CTV News in Kandahar. He went missing in October when an unknown caller summoned him to Kandahar Air Field and foreign soldiers captured him in the dusty parking lot just outside the main gate.

Casualty Reports:

Chris York injured Dec. 15 in Iraq. He shipped out to Kirkuk, Iraq, last May and expected to be there until about August serving with the U.S. Army. "All we know is he was in a turret in a Humvee," said his grandmother, Karen York. The vehicle either hit a land mine or was struck by some other kind of explosive device. "They removed his spleen, one kidney, part of his stomach, part of his intestine."

Sgt. Joshua Gutierrez of the 4th Infantry Division out of Fort Hood, Texas, was on patrol near Osut, Iraq, searching for missing U.S. soldiers on June 18, 2006, . Around midnight, in a Bradley Fighting Vehicle, Gutierrez unknowingly drove over a bomb, it exploded, and his Bradley caught fire. “I was unconscious about twenty seconds,” he said. “The guys in the cargo area got out. After I came to my senses, I tried getting out too, but my leg was already pretty much amputated. There was so much going on. My gunner pulled me out, and they got me away before the ammo and fuel blew (everything) up.” Doctors completed the below-the-knee amputation of his right leg, he had a mild traumatic brain injury, and he had three broken bones in his left leg. In succession, he needed medical care in Iraq, Germany, Texas, and San Diego.

Sgt. Andrew Parmley he felt his body forced backward and his left arm go numb. His weapon remained strapped to his chest in firing position, but in a split second, Parmley’s role had shifted from fighting soldier and combat medic to battlefield casualty. He looked down at his useless left arm. “My whole sleeve was bloody,” he said. Although the pain in his arm was “off the scale” and he wondered if it would eventually need to be amputated, he remembers feeling grateful to be alive. The bullet entered his upper arm and traveled through — damaging his ulnar nerve but missing the bone. On that late December morning, Parmley and his platoon had been on a routine mission in the farming community of Arab Jabour — an area south of Baghdad plagued with pockets of Al Qaeda militants.

GEN. PETRAEUS WANTS SLOWER TROOP WITHDRAWAL FROM IRAQ

All the talk coming from the Bush White House and FOX NEWS about how troops in Iraq will be drawndown apparently was just a smokescreen.

General David Petraeus, who is in charge of U.S. forces in Iraq, is quoted in the MARINE CORPS TIMES http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/02/Army_Petraeus_080218w/ that the withdrawal of U.S. troops will not be as fast as the Bush White House and FOX NEWS said it was going to be.

Violence in Iraq is definitely on the rise.

Also, the Marines and Army have been having difficulty in meeting recruitment goals.

Many of the troops in Iraq are now on their fourth and fifth rotation to the war zone and the National Guard and Reserves are also stretched to the breaking point.

Adding to the confusion the military faces, the Taliban in Afghanistan is showing signs of reconstituting itself. This week alone there were three suicide bombings in Afghanistan that claimed the lives of almost 200 Afghan citizens.

By Bill Corcoran, editor of CORKSPHERE, http://corksphere.blogspot.com/, the blog that bring readers the latest developments in Iraq and Afghanistan.


Petraeus backs slower drawdown from Iraq

By Sean D. Naylor - Staff WriterPosted : Tuesday Feb 19, 2008 13:40:13 EST

http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/02/Army_Petraeus_080218w/

The U.S. military commander in Iraq said today that while “there’s every intent” to continue reducing the size of the U.S. force there after the last of the brigade combat teams that constituted the “surge” returns home this summer, it would be “sensible and prudent” to pause the drawdown once the surge units redeploy.

Gen. David Petraeus said he had discussed the issue with Defense Secretary Robert Gates, U.S. Central Command head Adm. William Fallon, as well as with the chairman and the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Michael Mullen and Marine Gen. James Cartwright.

“The consensus is that when you have withdrawn over one quarter of your combat forces – it’s literally a quarter of our brigade combat teams plus two Marine battalions and the Marine expeditionary unit – that it would be sensible and prudent to have a period of consolidation, perhaps some force adjustments and evaluation before continuing with further reductions,” said Petraeus during a telephone interview.

There is “every intent” to further reduce forces once the departure of the surge forces is complete in July, but the senior leaders agreed that further reductions ought to be based on conditions in Iraq once the surge forces have left, he added.

“So there should be some decision points, once the dust has settled from all those reductions, at which you assess the situation and determine recommendations for additional reductions,” he said. However, he said, U.S. leaders had yet to determine what decision point might be.

“We’re still doing the analysis to lay out how best and when best to make recommendations on further reductions,” he said.

Petraeus listed a series of factors that will influence any decisions on further withdrawals, including how enemy forces react to the departure of the surge units; local and national political developments; local and national economic developments that might “help cement some of the security gains,” as well as the prospect of elections in the early fall.

The general said that any notion that the debate over whether to pause the drawdown after the surge units leave was pitting him against the Joint Chiefs was “a vast oversimplification” of the situation.

“I very much understand the strain and the sacrifice that these long deployments have required, he said, adding that he and his family had “first-hand knowledge” of those sacrifices as he estimated that by the time he next briefs Congress in April he will have been deployed 52 months since 2001.

“We all want to reduce that strain and increase dwell time” for units at home station, he said.

HALF OF BAGHDAD WITHOUT WATER

President Bush and Fox News continue to brag about the gains "the surge" has brought to Baghdad, Iraq, but what they don't talk about is the critical nature of life in the capital city.

As we reported earlier, most of the doctors have left Irag and water and electricity are at a premium in Baghdad.

Unemployment is still one of the biggest problems in Iraq and many young Iraqi men are joining the security forces just to earn a paycheck.

Iraq is NOT getting back to normal. Car bombs, suicide bombings and the decapitating of Iraqi citizens is going on everyday in Iraq.

Reported by Bill Corcoran, editor of CORKSPHERE, http://corksphere.blogspot.com/ a blog dedicated to theTRUTH about Iraq and Afghanistan.

Half of Baghdad Still Without Water
By Ahmad Raheema, Azzaman. Posted February 18, 2008.

http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/77306/

Despite the talk of progress, Iraq remains a nightmare.

Power failures and maintenance have disrupted running water supplies to almost half of the capital, Baghdad, home to nearly 6 million people.

A Baghdad Municipality source said the project supplying drinking water to Rasafa, the eastern half of Baghdad, was temporarily idle.

The source, refusing to be named, said running water supplies may not resume for a few days.
He attributed the stoppage, which has caused large-scale popular resentment, to blackouts which have recently even affected essential utilities like water.

The stoppage has led to the closure of bakeries and restaurants in Rasafa, aggravating the suffering of Baghdad residents.

Water resumed intermittently and in inadequate quantities through household taps for half a day after a three-stoppage on Thursday.

Then the taps dried once again.

IRAQI MEDICAL SYSTEM WRECKED BY WAR

Iraq once had one of the best medical systems in the world, but when the U.S. military invaded Iraq in 2003 many of the top doctors and nurses fled to neighboring countries like Syria, Iran and Jordan.

The "brain drain" has been very hard on the Iraqi people who now suffer through a war without end and no means of getting treatment for themselves or their children.

President Bush and his mouthpiece FOX NEWS can talk until they are blue in the face about the success of "the surge," but the reality of life in Iraq is a far different story.

Along with a shortage of electricity and water, the Iraqi people also are faced with a shortage of medical people to attend to their family health problems.

Commentary by Bill Corcoran, editor of CORKSPHERE, http://corksphere.blogspot.com/, a blog that brings readers the very latest on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan sans the filter of the Bush White House and FOX NEWS.

Iraqi Medical System Wrecked by War

By LORI HINNANT – 17 hours ago

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5isRxoqKp0584RoRlD8iQf5msy77wD8USTJ480

BAGHDAD (AP) — Already a troubled system, Iraqi medical care has fallen to the brink of collapse since the U.S.-led invasion five years ago.

Scores of doctors have been slain, cancer patients have to hunt down their own drugs — even IV fluid is in short supply. On Tuesday, a former deputy health minister and the head of the ministry's security force will stand trial, a year after they were accused of letting Shiite death squads use ambulances and government hospitals to carry out kidnappings and killings.
Specialists are hard to find. At one point, Baghdad — a city of more than 5 million — had no neurosurgeon, said Dr. Hussein al-Hilli, director of the Ibn Albitar Hospital in Baghdad.

"This was something that was horrible because we had many head injuries, many spinal injuries," al-Hilli said. He described "big shortages of drugs, big shortages of everything" — including IV fluid. "This simple thing, we don't have."

Like so many areas of life in Iraq, the health care crisis is vast and complex, and there is no quick solution to improve conditions for doctors and patients.

According to figures from the Iraqi Health Ministry released earlier this year, 618 medical employees, including 132 doctors, as well as medics and other health care workers, have been killed nationwide since 2003, among the professionals from many fields caught up in Iraq's sectarian violence.

Hundreds, possibly thousands, of other medical personnel are believed to have fled to Iraq's northern semiautonomous Kurdistan region and neighboring countries.

Even with the security gains of the past several months across Iraq, it is still dangerous for doctors and their families if they dare step out of heavily guarded hospital compounds.

Drugs supplies are so low that Iraqis hospitalized for illnesses as serious as cancer are asked to track down their own medicine.

"When we need medicine, we go directly to private pharmacies," said Ahmed Khalil, the 38-year-old owner of an auto repair shop in Fallujah. "We know we're not going to get any from Fallujah hospital."
And when pharmacy shelves are bare, Iraqis turn to the black market.

"Before the invasion, we got our share of medicine through government-owned medicine depots," said a Baghdad pharmacist, who spoke about on condition of anonymity because he feared reprisal. He said hospitals and clinics get some drugs from the medical depots, but it's rarely enough for the number of people in need.

"Sometimes we get medicine stolen by employees who work at the depots or at hospitals," he said.

At worst, the black-market drugs are dubious knockoffs, according to patients, doctors and pharmacists alike.

The war has taken a special toll on hospitals.

Fallujah, site of one of the deadliest battles between U.S. troops and militants west of Baghdad, is slowly rebuilding as violence ebbs, but memories of the danger are acute at the city's main hospital.

"Doctors would concentrate most of the time on treating people wounded in U.S. bombings or clashes between insurgents and U.S. forces. Other patients got little attention," said one doctor at the hospital, who also declined to be identified because he also feared for his safety. "We were beaten by gunmen if we failed to save their wounded fellows."

Jassim Naseef, 52, took his pregnant wife to a private clinic three months ago, paying 20 times what the public hospital would have charged for the birth of their son: $247 compared with $12. The hospital wards, he complained, were dirty and lacked electricity.

"I chose the expensive private clinic in order to ensure that my wife and my son got the best medical care," he said.

The American military and non-governmental organizations such as the Iraqi Red Crescent do a great deal to help, al-Hilli and others said, by bringing in supplies and advisers and helping train medical staff still versed in 1970s-style medicine.

Al-Hilli also has been buoyed by the Iraqi government announcing a plan to build more hospitals. He said no new hospitals had been built since 1986, at the height of the Iran-Iraq war, more than two decades ago.

Yet there are still major problems. Iraq's Health Ministry has been in almost constant flux since the war started. Each minister has stayed "eight months or seven months or 11 months," al-Hilli said.
Then, there are the arrests of former Deputy Health Minister Hakim al-Zamili and Brig. Gen. Hameed al-Shimmari, who was in charge of the ministry's security force. Soldiers stormed their offices last February in separate raids.

U.S. officials had been complaining that radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's followers were transforming hospitals into bases for his Mahdi militia and — were diverting medicine from state clinics to health care facilities run by the cleric's movement.

The clinics helped al-Sadr build a powerful nationwide political movement modeled in part on the Shiite Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.

There was another ominous development earlier this month, when the acting head of al-Rashad psychiatric hospital was arrested by the U.S. military in connection with the possible exploitation of mentally impaired women by al-Qaida in Iraq, presumably the suicide bombers who destroyed two pet markets in Baghdad and killed nearly 100 people.

The U.S. military wouldn't speculate on a motive but noted at the time of the arrest that al-Qaida often uses threats or extortion to get what it wants, which could possibly put the death of the former director, Dr. Ibrahim Mohammed Ajil, in a slightly different light.

He was gunned down on his way home from work in December.

PARTIAL CURFEW FOR FALLUJA, IRAQ A WEEK AFTER FOX NEWS CALLED CITY A SAFE HAVEN

Just a week ago a Fox News reporter toured the streets of Falluja, Iraq with a U.S. Army General in a display of how safe Falluja has become since the introduction of the "surge."

However, on Monday a partial curfew of Falluja was ordered when reports surfaced insurgents and terrorists had entered the city.

The city of Falluja is the prime jewel in the Bush Administration's crown of selling the American public on the idea the "surge" has been a roaring success in Iraq.

As Falluja goes so goes Iraq is the battle cry of the Bush administration and their propaganda mouthpiece Fox News.

The United States military is going to launch a full-scale effort to seek and destroy any insurgents or terrorists who have entered Falluja.

Commentary by Bill Corcoran, editor of CORKSPHERE

Police impose partial curfew on Falluja

http://tinyurl.com/23sqlb

Falluja, Feb 18, (VOI) - Police forces on Monday imposed a partial curfew over Falluja during hunt down operations for gunmen, a police source said."Falluja police imposed a curfew on al-Muhandiseen, al-Mualimeen, and al-Wehda neighborhoods in central Falluja," the source told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI) on condition of anonymity.

"The ban includes vehicles and pedestrians," he explained."Police patrols ordered residents via loudspeakers to remain indoors while searching some houses," the source noted."

This came after a tip-off that indicated some gunmen had entered the city," he highlighted.Falluja is 45 km west of Baghdad.

EIGHT DIE IN SUICIDE ATTACKS IN IRAQ. THREE FROM FEMALE BOMBER

The violence in Iraq shows no sign of letting up as the toll from Sunday's suicide bombings rose to eight, including three who were killed when a female suicide bomber blew herself up at a shop in central Baghdad.

The mainstream media in the United States continues to ignore the upward trend of violence in Iraq and still praises the "surge" even when there is ample proof the "surge" has not curbed the violence in Iraq and the capital city of Baghdad.

Commentary by Bill Corcoran, editor of CORKSPHERE, http://corksphere.blogspot.com/, the only blog devoted entirely to bringing readers the truth about conditions in both Iraq and Afghanistan.


Toll from Iraq attacks rises to eight

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-02/17/content_7619362.htm

BAGHDAD, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- Death toll from attacks in Iraq on Sunday, including a suicide bombing attack in Baghdad, rose to eight, sources with Interior Ministry and police said.

A female suicide bomber blew herself up at a shop in central Baghdad neighborhood of Karrada on Sunday, killing up to three people and wounding eight others, an Interior Ministry source said.

Earlier, the source put the casualties at two killed and four injured.

The female suicide bomber entered the shop after being chased by Iraqi army soldiers on suspicion that she was a suicide bomber, the source said.

The blast destroyed the shop and caused damages to several nearby shops and civilian cars, he said.

In northern Iraq, a car bomb struck a police patrol in the city of Mosul, the capital of Nineveh province, damaging a police vehicle and killing a policeman aboard, the police said.

Two civilians were also killed and two others injured by the blast in the city located some 400 km north of Baghdad, they said.

In Salahudin province, a roadside bomb went off in the morning near a civilian car in the town of Beiji, some 200 km north of Baghdad, killing the driver aboard, who was later appeared to be a member of the U.S.-backed Awakening Council group, which fight al-Qaida in Iraq network, a provincial police source told Xinhua.

In a separate incident, unknown gunmen stormed a house in the town of Duluiyah, 90 km north of Baghdad, and shot dead a woman before they fled the scene, the source said.

The attacks came as the Iraqi government have been emphasizing the dramatic security improvement in the war-torn country since months ago, thanks to a large influx of U.S. troops and the cooperation of Iraq's Sunnis.

However, the U.S. military commanders have doubts over security, stressing that the al-Qaida remains a serious threat.

VIOLENCE ERUPTS ACROSS IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN

Violence continues throughout Iraq and Afghanistan as both countries teeter on the brink of collapse again.

Despite all the flamboyant talk from the Bush administration and their puppet mouthpiece, Fox News, both Iraq and Afghanistan are in the throes of chaos as suicide bombers take their toll in both countries.

Here is just a partial list of incidents from Iraq and Afghanistan that took place Monday.


Baquba:#1: Three civilians were wounded on Monday when a booby-trapped car went off south of Baaquba targeting Popular Committees fighters, said an official police source. "A car bomb was detonated in Bahraz district, south of Baaquba, targeting a gathering of the Popular Committees fighters, injuring three civilians,” the source, who asked to remain unnamed, told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq

#2: A suicide car bomb targeted the office of the local committees in Shams village south of Baquba city around 12:00 pm. No casualties were reported.Iskandariyah:#1: Gunmen killed one man and wounded another in a drive-by shooting on Sunday in Iskandariya, 40 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.Babel Prv:#1: The Babel provincial council vice chairman was wounded in a quarrel with the guards of the city's court of appeal on Monday and was taken to a hospital, a police source in the province said. "A quarrel occurred between Dr. Niema Jassem, who was entering the court of appeal in the city, and the guards of the court," the source, who asked not to be named, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI) ."The court guards assaulted Jassem, breaking his right arm and causing him bruises in other parts of his body," the source said, adding "Jassem was taken to a hospital while the guards were kept under investigative custody."Basra:#1: A police officer from the internal affairs department survived unscathed an attempt on his life in central Basra on Monday while three of his guards were wounded, an official police source in Basra said. "Unidentified gunmen in a vehicle opened drive-by fire at Capt. Muhammad Nouri, an officer in the internal affairs department, in central Basra," the source, who refused to have his name mentioned, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq

Tikrit:#1: Maj. Nahi Khalaf Ahmad was killed when a roadside bomb detonated before noon outside his house in central the capital city of Tikrit, 170 km north of Baghdad, a provincial police source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. Three people were also wounded by the blast that caused damages to nearby houses and civilian cars, he said.Samarra:#1: Separately, an Iraqi police force teamed up with fighters from an Awakening Council group and raided on Sunday night al-Qaida hideouts in the open area of the al-Jallam, just east of Samarra City, some 120 km north of Baghdad, Mazin Younis, head of the Awakening group in the city, told Xinhua. During the raid the police and the Awakening Council fighters had sporadic clashes with some militant groups, which resulted in the killing of an insurgent who was wearing an explosive vest and the detention of two others, Younis said.Al Anbar Prv:Hit:

#1: Two civilians were killed and another wounded in a blast that occurred inside a store selling electrical appliances in central Hit, 70 km west of Ramadi, on Monday, a security source said. "The store owner was killed and his son wounded. Another civilian who happened to be inside the store at the time was killed," the source told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI) on condition of anonymity.Ramadi:#1: Police patrols on Monday found two unknown corpses in the city of Ramadi, a police source said. "A police patrol found two bodies thrown on the international road in western Ramadi," the source told Aswat al-Iraq -

Voices of IraqAfghanistan:#1: It is with deep regret that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that a soldier from the 2nd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment was killed in southern Afghanistan yesterday, Sunday 17 February 2008. One other soldier was also injured in the incident but his injuries are not life threatening. Just before 2100 hrs local time soldiers from the 2nd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment, as part of their Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team (OMLT) role, were taking part in a foot patrol with 40 Commando Royal Marines near Kajaki, Helmand Province, when they were caught in an explosion.

#2: A suicide bomber targeting a foreign military convoy in Afghanistan killed 37 civilians in an attack near the Pakistan border on Monday, the interior ministry said. The attack happened on a narrow bridge in the bustling town of Spin Boldak in southern Kandahar province, a stronghold for Taliban insurgents fighting the Afghan government and its Western backers. Kandahar's governor Assadullah Kahlid told a news conference the bomber was in a car and had attacked a convoy of Canadian troops serving under NATO's command. Four Canadians were wounded, he said. But another official from the area said two foreign soldiers also died.

A suicide car bomber targeting a Canadian military convoy left three Canadian soldiers wounded at at least 37 civilians were killed. The bombing occured at a busy market in southern Afghanistan. The Canadian military released few details initially, saying only that no Canadians were killed.#3: update An Afghan governor says the death toll from a suicide bombing in Kandahar province has risen to more than 100. Kandahar Gov. Asadullah Khalid told a mosque filled with mourners Monday that he had warned the militia commander who was the target of Sunday's attack that bombers were trying to kill him. The suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowd of men and boys watching a dog fighting competition.

SECOND SUICIDE BOMBING KILLS 37 IN AFGHANISTAN: 100 KILLED ON SUNDAY

Just as was anticipated the insurgents and the Taliban have shifted their attacks away from Iraq and are now targeting Afghanistan.

On Sunday 100 people were killed in Afghanistan when a suicide bomber blew themselves up at a dog fight, and on Monday another 37 were killed in Afghanistan when a suicide bomber set off an explosive in the middle of a foreign military convoy. The deaths were mostly Afghan civilians.

The Taliban as well as Al Queda have been showing signs of stepping up their attacks in Afghanistan where the United States military has over 25,000 troops.

There is already talk in the Bush White House and at the Pentagon of sending additional troops into Afghanistan.

Commentary: President Bush obviously bit off more than he can chew when he decided to invade both Afghanistan and Iraq.

The resurgence of the Taliban and Al Queda in Afghanistan is very worrisome, and military leaders in Iraq are now saying the withdrawal of troops from Iraq will probably not take place.

The United States military--especially the Army and the Marines---are stretched to the breaking point and are in dire need of more recruits to offset the rotations that find some units going back to Iraq and Afghanistan for their third fourth or fifth tour.

The "surge" in Iraq is like a band-aid and there is already talk it will not have a lasting effect on the violence in Iraq which is already showing signs of increasing.

A female suicide bomber killed three people on Sunday in Baghdad and the bodies of ten Iraqi citizens who had been decapitated were found in Baghdad.

There are also troubling signs with the Iraqi government as members of the Sunni bloc are voicing displeasure with the way the government is handling matters in Iraq.

The British government was in Iraq for 30 years with 90,000 troops and were never able to bring stability to Iraq.

There is no reason to believe the results will be any different even if the U.S. military stays in Iraq and Afghanistan for the next 100 years as Sen. John McCain has proposed.

Bill Corcoran, Chicago, editor of CORKSPHERE, http://corksphere.blogspot.com/ the blog that tells the TRUTH about Iraq and Afghanistan and not Bush White House and FOX NEWS spin.

Suicide bomber kills 37 in Afghanistan

18 Feb 2008 13:42:53 GMT 18 Feb 2008 13:42:53 GMT Source: Reuters

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SP294429.htm

By Mirwais Afghan and Ismail Sameem

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Feb 18 (Reuters) - A suicide bomber targeting a foreign military convoy in Afghanistan killed 37 civilians in an attack near the Pakistan border on Monday, the interior ministry said.

The attack, a day after more than 100 people were killed in the deadliest suspected suicide raid since the Taliban were overthrown in 2001, comes as some Western politicians call for a stronger resolve to stop Afghanistan sliding back into anarchy.

"The suicide attack ... caused the killing of 37 non-combatants and wounding of 30 others," the ministry said in a statement in Kabul.

The attack happened on a narrow bridge in the bustling town of Spin Boldak in southern Kandahar province, a stronghold for Taliban insurgents fighting the Afghan government and its Western backers.

Kandahar's governor Assadullah Khalid told a news conference the bomber was in a car and had attacked a convoy of Canadian troops serving under NATO's command. Four Canadians were wounded, he said. But another official from the area said two foreign soldiers also died.

A NATO spokesman in Kabul confirmed the blast, but refused to provide more details. Several fuel shops were on fire in Spin Boldak after the bombing, witnesses said.

Despite the presence of more than 50,000 foreign soldiers led by NATO and the U.S. military, as well as some 140,000 Afghan troops, Taliban militants have made a comeback in the past two years and more than 11,000 people have been killed in violence.

Sunday's attack happened as a crowd of people were watching dog fights in Arghandab, on the western outskirts of Kandahar city. Dozens of victims were buried side-by-side in a mourning ceremony on Monday.

Provincial governor Khalid has accused the Taliban of the attack, but the insurgents denied responsibility.

Khalid said he had intelligence about the attack and had tipped off the Canadian forces about it.

Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday she saw no need to change parliamentary mandates limiting the number of troops her government can send to Afghanistan, despite mounting pressure from NATO allies.

"We are not changing the mandates as they are at the moment," Merkel told reporters. "I see no need for a change at the moment."

Germany, which has roughly 3,300 troops in Afghanistan, is under pressure from allies, particularly the United States, to send additional soldiers and shift them from the north to the more dangerous south to help battle Taliban insurgents.

The main mandate, due to expire in October, allows Germany to send a maximum of 3,500 soldiers to Afghanistan. German media have reported Merkel's government seeks to increase the number of troops.

IED BOMBS DOWN IN IRAQ BUT UP IN AFGHANISTAN

Senator John McCain, the likely Republican candidate for POTUS, has an expression for it. He calls it "whack-a-mole."
What McCain is referring to is how when U.S. forces seem to be getting the upper hand on IED (Improvised Explosive Devices) in Iraq they pop in Afghanistan.

This has been the MO (Modus Operandi) of the insurgents and Al Qaeda since the U.S. invaded and occupied both Iraq and Afghanistan. Violence is putdown in one area only to pop up in another area.

A study release by Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) spells out what is working and what isn't working in the ongoing effort to stop IED attacks.

It is worth reading.

Bill Corcoran, editor CORKSPHERE http://corksphere.blogspot.com/, the blog that brings readers the latest developments in the Iraq and Afghanistan war zones.

Improvised Bombs: Down in Iraq, Up in Afghanistan; Tech Barely a Factor

By Sharon Weinberger February 14, 2008 1:40:00 PMCategories: Bomb Squad

http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/02/ieds-down-in-ir.html
There's good news in Iraq: improvised explosive device (IED) attacks against coalition forces in Iraq have dropped dramatically over the last year. Not only is the use of IEDs dropping off, but more IEDs are being found before they go off, and more Iraqis are alerting forces of possible attacks.

That's all good news, but as noted in the just released Fiscal Year 2007 Annual Report of the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO), while IEDs are declining in Iraq, "the opposite trend has been observed in Afghanistan." The report notes, "In that theater, an emboldened, increasingly aggressive enemy has increased the use of IEDs. The number of IEDs employed against U.S. forces in FY07 reached an all-time high, more than doubling over the last half of the fiscal year."

More interesting are the reasons cited for this turnaround. It's not a silver bullet technology, or frankly, anything specifically the JIEDDO has done (though no doubt it's contributed in some areas). Rather, the report points to four major factors:

1) "The decision of many local faction to support coalition force efforts."
2) "The sustained presence of coalition forces throughout the Baghdad security zones that have greatly reduced the monthly number of IED incidents in Baghdad."
3) "The success of numerous locally focused brigade and regimental-level operations against networks."
4) "Relentless efforts to disrupt the event chain which enables activities."

If operational tactics dealt the biggest blow to the IED threat, how, then, has JIEDDO contributed to the drop-off? Well, protective capabilities, which JIEDDO has supported, have played a role, the report notes, so too has better training. Also, JIEDDO has been involved in a number of efforts to disrupt IED networks (cited above as a contributing factor to the overall decrease). The reports notes that over the last year, insurgents have had to employ six IEDs to bring about one coalition casualty. On the flip side, IEDs that do go off have become more lethal, demonstrating how insurgents are adapting. But the report makes clear that it's military operations that have played the greatest role in this turnaround.

What hasn't worked? Well, nifty gimmickry doesn't always pan out. JIEDDO says over the past year it's canceled Alexis and Electra-C, systems that emitted wave forms to pre-detonate IEDs. They interfered with the counter-IED jammers. That's not good. Warlock Dragon, which uses high-power microwaves against IEDs, also ended up being something of a dud. Despite promising tests, it didn't work well in the field (because insurgents were using countermeasures, JIEDDO says).

Interestingly, although the report appears to place heavy emphasis on the success of things like attacking the IED network, counter-IED systems still gets the lion's share of JIEDDO funding ($2.57 billion out of $4.77 billion) for fiscal 2008. This could simply be because technology is cash-intensive, while efforts to attack the network are not. But, it's still an interesting data point.

80 KILLED IN AFGHANISTAN BY SUICIUDE BOMBER: 2 U.S. SOLDIERS KILLED IN IRAQ: FEMALE SUICIDE BOMBER KILLS 3

The violence has shifted back to Afghanistan where on Sunday 80 people were killed while attending a dog fight.

Meanwhile, in Iraq there is no sign of a letup in the violence that continues throughout the country.

Here is what happened on Sunday in Iraq:

TWO U.S. SOLDIERS ARE KILLED IN IRAQ. FEMALE SUICIDE BOMBER KILLS 3

Diyala Province, unspecified locationTwo U.S. soldiers killed by small arms fire, one injured a