The official Department of Defense casualty figures for the month of April have been released and 51 US servicemen were killed during the month. Some of the names have yet to be confirmed pending contact with next of kin. The rest of the soliders and Marines killed in the month of April are listed by name and date of death with the province where they were killed and cause of death.
You can click on the names in "BLUE" to obtain more details of each death.
Total Name Place of Death - Province Cause of Death
30-Apr-2008
4
US: 4 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
NAME NOT RELEASED YET
Ninawa Province
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US
NAME NOT RELEASED YET
Baghdad (southern part)
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US
NAME NOT RELEASED YET
Baghdad (southern part)
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US
NAME NOT RELEASED YET
Baghdad (northern part)
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
29-Apr-2008
2
US: 2 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
NAME NOT RELEASED YET
Baghdad (northeastern part)
Hostile - hostile fire - small arms fire
US
NAME NOT RELEASED YET
Baghdad
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
28-Apr-2008
4
US: 4 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
Specialist David P. McCormick
Baghdad (western part)
Hostile - hostile fire - Rocket fire
US
Private 1st Class Adam L. Marion
Baghdad
Hostile - hostile fire - indirect fire
US
Sergeant Marcus C. Mathes
Baghdad
Hostile - hostile fire - indirect fire
US
Sergeant Mark A. Stone
Baghdad
Hostile - hostile fire - indirect fire
27-Apr-2008
1
US: 1 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
Private 1st Class William T. Dix
Camp Buehring
Non-hostile
24-Apr-2008
1
US: 1 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
Staff Sergeant Shaun J. Whitehead
Iskandariyah - Babil
Hostile - hostile fire - IED, small arms fire
23-Apr-2008
4
US: 4 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
Sergeant Guadalupe Cervantes Ramirez
Camp Arifjan
Non-hostile - vehicle accident
US
Private 1st Class John T. Bishop
Golden Hills - Salah Ad Din
Non-hostile - vehicle rollover
US
1st Lieutenant Timothy W. Cunningham
Golden Hills - Salah Ad Din
Non-hostile - vehicle rollover
US
Staff Sergeant Ronald C. Blystone
Baghdad (eastern part)
Hostile - hostile fire - small arms fire
22-Apr-2008
3
US: 3 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
Private Ronald R. Harrison
FOB Falcon (nr. Baghdad)
Non-hostile - injury
US
Lance Corporal Jordan C. Haerter
Ramadi (near) - Al Anbar Province
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack (VBIED)
US
Corporal Jonathan T. Yale
Ramadi (near) - Al Anbar Province
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack (VBIED)
21-Apr-2008
4
US: 4 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
Airman Apprentice Adrian M. Campos
Dubai -
Non-hostile
US
1st Lieutenant Matthew R. Vandergrift
Basra - Basrah
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US
Specialist Steven J. Christofferson
Baiji - Salah Ad Din
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US
Sergeant Adam J. Kohlhaas
Baiji - Salah Ad Din
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
20-Apr-2008
1
US: 1 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
Petty Officer 1st Class Cherie L. Morton
Galali, Muharraq
Non-hostile
18-Apr-2008
2
US: 2 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
Specialist Benjamin K. Brosh
Balad - Salah Ad Din
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack (VBIED)
US
Specialist Lance O. Eakes
Baghdad (north of)
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
17-Apr-2008
1
US: 1 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
Staff Sergeant Jason L. Brown
Sama Village
Hostile - hostile fire - small arms fire, grenade
14-Apr-2008
4
US: 4 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
Specialist Arturo Huerta-Cruz
Tuz - Salah Ad Din
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US
Sergeant Joseph A. Richard III
Baghdad (northeastern part)
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US
Corporal Richard J. Nelson
Al Anbar Province
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US
Lance Corporal Dean D. Opicka
Al Anbar Province
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
12-Apr-2008
1
US: 1 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
Specialist William E. Allmon
Baghdad
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
09-Apr-2008
5
US: 5 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
Technical Sergeant Anthony L. Capra
Baghdad
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US
Specialist Jeremiah C. Hughes
Baghdad
Non-hostile - injury
US
Sergeant Jesse A. Ault
Tunis (died in Baghdad) - Salah Ad Din
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US
Sergeant Shaun P. Tousha
Baghdad
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US
Specialist Jacob J. Fairbanks
Baghdad
Non-hostile - suicide
08-Apr-2008
2
US: 2 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
Staff Sergeant Jeffery L. Hartley
Kharguliah - Baghdad
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US
Major Mark E. Rosenberg
Baghdad
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
07-Apr-2008
4
US: 4 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
Sergeant Timothy M. Smith
Baghdad
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US
Sergeant Michael T. Lilly
Baghdad
Hostile - hostile fire - RPG attack
US
Specialist Jason C. Kazarick
Baghdad
Hostile - hostile fire - RPG attack
US
Sergeant Richard A. Vaughn
Baghdad (eastern part)
Hostile - hostile fire - small arms fire
06-Apr-2008
7
US: 7 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
Staff Sergeant Jeremiah E. McNeal
Baghdad
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US
Staff Sergeant Emanuel Pickett
Baghdad
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US
Private 1st Class Shane D. Penley
Rustamiyah - Baghdad
Non-hostile
US
Colonel Stephen K. Scott
Baghdad (Green Zone)
Hostile - hostile fire - rocket attack
US
Major Stuart A. Wolfer
Baghdad (Green Zone)
Hostile - hostile fire - rocket attack
US
Captain Ulises Burgos-Cruz
Diyala Province (Died in Balad)
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US
Specialist Matthew T. Morris
Diyala Province (Died in Balad)
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
03-Apr-2008
1
US: 1 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
Staff Sergeant Travis L. Griffin
Baghdad (near)
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
Total
51
US: 51 UK: 0 Other: 0
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
51 US DEATHS IN APRIL IN IRAQ. WE HAVE LIST OF NAMES, HOMETOWNS, WHERE AND CAUSE OF DEATH
IRAQI WOMEN BEHEADED FOR NOT WEARING A VEIL
"Women Are Being Beheaded for Taking Their Veil Off": Honor Killings On Rise in Iraq
By Terri Judd, Independent UKPosted on April 30, 2008, Printed on April 30, 2008
http://www.alternet.org/story/83710/
At first glance Shawbo Ali Rauf appears to be slumbering on the grass, her pale brown curls framing her face, her summer skirt spread about her. But the awkward position of her limbs and the splattered blood reveal the true horror of the scene.
The 19-year-old Iraqi was, according to her father, murdered by her own in-laws, who took her to a picnic area in Dokan and shot her seven times. Her crime was to have an unknown number on her mobile phone. Her "honor killing" is just one in a grotesque series emerging from Iraq, where activists speak of a "genocide" against women in the name of religion.
In the latest such case, it was reported yesterday that a 17-year-old girl, Rand Abdel-Qader, was stabbed to death last month by her father for becoming infatuated with a British soldier serving in southern Iraq.
In Basra alone, police acknowledge that 15 women a month are murdered for breaching Islamic dress codes. Campaigners insist it is a conservative figure.
Violence against women is rampant, rising every day with the power of the militias. Beheadings, rapes, beatings, suicides through self-immolation, genital mutilation, trafficking and child abuse masquerading as marriage of girls as young as nine are all on the increase.
Du'a Khalil Aswad, 17, from Nineveh, was executed by stoning in front of mob of 2,000 men for falling in love with a boy outside her Yazidi tribe. Mobile phone images of her broken body transmitted on the internet led to sectarian violence, international outrage and calls for reform. Her father, Khalil Aswad, speaking one year after her death in April last year, has revealed that none of those responsible had been prosecuted and his family remained "outcasts" in their own tribe.
.View this story online at:
http://www.alternet.org/story/83710/
MSNBC 'HARDBALL' HOST CHRIS MATTHEWS SPARKS WAR WITH IRAN DEBATE
MSNBC'S host of "Hardball," Chris Matthews, departed from his nightly rants on the Hillary, Obama and McCain POTUS race, just long enough to devote one segment of his Wednesday show to the possibility the United States is laying plans to go to war with IRAN.
FOX NEWS has been hyping going to war with IRAN for months, and now CBS News is talking about a U.S. attack plan aimed at Iran.
"Hostile" Iran Sparks U.S. Attack Plan
WASHINGTON, April 29, 2008
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/29/eveningnews/main4056941.shtml
(CBS) A second American aircraft carrier steamed into the Persian Gulf on Tuesday as the Pentagon ordered military commanders to develop new options for attacking Iran. CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports that the planning is being driven by what one officer called the "increasingly hostile role" Iran is playing in Iraq - smuggling weapons into Iraq for use against American troops.
"What the Iranians are doing is killing American servicemen and -women inside Iraq," said Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. U.S. officials are also concerned by Iranian harassment of U.S. ships in the Persian Gulf as well as Iran's still growing nuclear program. New pictures of Iran's uranium enrichment plant show the country's defense minister in the background, as if deliberately mocking a recent finding by U.S. intelligence that Iran had ceased work on a nuclear weapon.
No attacks are imminent and the last thing the Pentagon wants is another war, but Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen has warned Iran not to assume the U.S. military can't strike. "I have reserve capability, in particular our Navy and our Air Force so it would be a mistake to think that we are out of combat capability," Mullen said. Targets would include everything from the plants where weapons are made to the headquarters of the organization known as the Quds Force which directs operations in Iraq.
Later this week Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is expected to confront the Iranians with evidence of their meddling and demand a halt.
If that doesn't produce results, the State Department has begun drafting an ultimatum that would tell the Iranians to knock it off - or else.
925 IRAQIS KILLED IN SADR CITY BLOODBATH: 47 US TROOPS KILLED
The month of April is shaping up to be one of the bloodiest months in a long, long time in Iraq with 925 Iraqi civilians killed in Sadr City alone, and 47 US soldiers or Marines killed during the month of April.
Sadr City bloodshed kills 925 Iraqis
by Salam Faraj Wed Apr 30, 12:08 PM ET
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080430/ts_afp/iraqunrestsadrcity
BAGHDAD (AFP) - Clashes between Shiite militiamen and security forces have killed more than 900 people in Baghdad's Sadr City, an Iraqi official said on Wednesday, as Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki vowed to keep up the offensive.
The latest death toll from the Sadr City fighting that erupted late last month is set to make April the deadliest month this year, denting US and Iraqi government claims of improved security.
"There were 925 martyrs in Sadr City and 2,605 others have been wounded," Tehseen Sheikhly, spokesman for the government's Baghdad security plan, told reporters.
GI DEATHS IN IRAQ HIT 7 MONTH HIGH.
Killing of three soldiers in separate attacks in Baghdad pushes toll up to 47
The Associated Press
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24381506/
BAGHDAD - The killings of three U.S. soldiers in separate attacks in Baghdad pushed the American death toll for April up to 47, making it the deadliest month since September.
One soldier died when his vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb. The other died of wounds sustained when he was attacked by small-arms fire, the military said Wednesday. Both incidents occurred Tuesday in northwestern Baghdad.
A third soldier died in a roadside bombing Tuesday night in the east of the capital, the military said.
The statement did not give a more specific location. But the eastern half of Baghdad includes embattled Sadr City and other neighborhoods that have been the focus of intense combat between Shiite militants and U.S.-Iraqi troops for more than a month.
4,059 since 2003In all, at least 4,059 members of the U.S. military have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
'BAD BOYS' GET PROMOTED FASTER IN THE ARMY
Study: Recruits on waivers get promoted faster
By Lolita C. Baldor - The Associated PressPosted :
Wednesday Apr 30, 2008 6:08:08 EDT
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/04/ap_militarywaivers_042908/
WASHINGTON — Soldiers who need special waivers to get into the Army because of bad behavior go AWOL more often and face more courts-martial. But they also get promoted faster and re-enlist at a higher rate, according to an internal military study obtained by The Associated Press.
The Army study late last year concluded that taking a chance on a well-screened applicant with a criminal, bad driving or drug record usually pays off. And both the Army and the Marines have been bringing in more recruits with blemished records. Still, senior leaders have called for additional studies, to help determine the impact of the waivers on the Army.
“We believe that so far the return outweighs the risk,” said Army Col. Kent M. Miller, who headed the team that conducted the study.
The information has not been released to the public, but the AP obtained a copy of the study.
Click on this link http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/04/ap_militarywaivers_042908/ to read more.
ENTIRE MONTH OF APRIL US CASUALTIES IN IRAQ. NAMES, HOMETOWNS, CAUSE OF DEATH
Pending any further US deaths on Wednesday, this is an entire list of US military deaths for the month of April including name, hometown, province in Iraq and cause of death. Click on "BLUE" to read further details.
Date
Total
Name
Place of Death - Province
Cause of Death
29-Apr-2008
2
US: 2 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
NAME NOT RELEASED YET
Baghdad (northeastern part)
Hostile - hostile fire - small arms fire
US
NAME NOT RELEASED YET
Baghdad
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
28-Apr-2008
4
US: 4 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
Specialist David P. McCormick
Baghdad (western part)
Hostile - hostile fire - Rocket fire
US
NAME NOT RELEASED YET
Baghdad
Hostile - hostile fire - indirect fire
US
NAME NOT RELEASED YET
Baghdad
Hostile - hostile fire - indirect fire
US
NAME NOT RELEASED YET
Baghdad
Hostile - hostile fire - indirect fire
24-Apr-2008
1
US: 1 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
Staff Sergeant Shaun J. Whitehead
Iskandariyah - Babil
Hostile - hostile fire - IED, small arms fire
23-Apr-2008
4
US: 4 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
Sergeant Guadalupe Cervantes Ramirez
Camp Arifjan
Non-hostile - vehicle accident
US
Private 1st Class John T. Bishop
Golden Hills - Salah Ad Din
Non-hostile - vehicle rollover
US
1st Lieutenant Timothy W. Cunningham
Golden Hills - Salah Ad Din
Non-hostile - vehicle rollover
US
Staff Sergeant Ronald C. Blystone
Baghdad (eastern part)
Hostile - hostile fire - small arms fire
22-Apr-2008
3
US: 3 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
Private Ronald R. Harrison
FOB Falcon (nr. Baghdad)
Non-hostile - injury
US
Lance Corporal Jordan C. Haerter
Ramadi (near) - Al Anbar Province
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack (VBIED)
US
Corporal Jonathan T. Yale
Ramadi (near) - Al Anbar Province
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack (VBIED)
21-Apr-2008
4
US: 4 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
Airman Apprentice Adrian M. Campos
Dubai -
Non-hostile
US
1st Lieutenant Matthew R. Vandergrift
Basra - Basrah
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US
Specialist Steven J. Christofferson
Baiji - Salah Ad Din
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US
Sergeant Adam J. Kohlhaas
Baiji - Salah Ad Din
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
20-Apr-2008
1
US: 1 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
Petty Officer 1st Class Cherie L. Morton
Galali, Muharraq
Non-hostile
18-Apr-2008
2
US: 2 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
Specialist Benjamin K. Brosh
Balad - Salah Ad Din
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack (VBIED)
US
Specialist Lance O. Eakes
Baghdad (north of)
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
17-Apr-2008
1
US: 1 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
Staff Sergeant Jason L. Brown
Sama Village
Hostile - hostile fire - small arms fire, grenade
14-Apr-2008
4
US: 4 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
Specialist Arturo Huerta-Cruz
Tuz - Salah Ad Din
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US
Sergeant Joseph A. Richard III
Baghdad (northeastern part)
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US
Corporal Richard J. Nelson
Al Anbar Province
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US
Lance Corporal Dean D. Opicka
Al Anbar Province
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
12-Apr-2008
1
US: 1 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
Specialist William E. Allmon
Baghdad
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
09-Apr-2008
5
US: 5 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
Technical Sergeant Anthony L. Capra
Baghdad
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US
Specialist Jeremiah C. Hughes
Baghdad
Non-hostile - injury
US
Sergeant Jesse A. Ault
Tunis (died in Baghdad) - Salah Ad Din
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US
Sergeant Shaun P. Tousha
Baghdad
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US
Specialist Jacob J. Fairbanks
Baghdad
Non-hostile - suicide
08-Apr-2008
2
US: 2 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
Staff Sergeant Jeffery L. Hartley
Kharguliah - Baghdad
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US
Major Mark E. Rosenberg
Baghdad
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
07-Apr-2008
4
US: 4 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
Sergeant Timothy M. Smith
Baghdad
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US
Sergeant Michael T. Lilly
Baghdad
Hostile - hostile fire - RPG attack
US
Specialist Jason C. Kazarick
Baghdad
Hostile - hostile fire - RPG attack
US
Sergeant Richard A. Vaughn
Baghdad (eastern part)
Hostile - hostile fire - small arms fire
06-Apr-2008
7
US: 7 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
Staff Sergeant Jeremiah E. McNeal
Baghdad
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US
Staff Sergeant Emanuel Pickett
Baghdad
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US
Private 1st Class Shane D. Penley
Rustamiyah - Baghdad
Non-hostile
US
Colonel Stephen K. Scott
Baghdad (Green Zone)
Hostile - hostile fire - rocket attack
US
Major Stuart A. Wolfer
Baghdad (Green Zone)
Hostile - hostile fire - rocket attack
US
Captain Ulises Burgos-Cruz
Diyala Province (Died in Balad)
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US
Specialist Matthew T. Morris
Diyala Province (Died in Balad)
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
03-Apr-2008
1
US: 1 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
Staff Sergeant Travis L. Griffin
Baghdad (near)
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
Total
46
US: 46 UK: 0 Other: 0
TV NEWS IGNORES NY TIMES' MILITARY ANALYST STORY, BUT ALL FIND TIME FOR HANNAH MONTANA
Since The New York Times reported on the hidden ties between media military analysts and the Pentagon on April 20, ABC, CBS, and NBC have still not mentioned the report. By contrast, during their April 28 evening news broadcasts, all three networks reported on the Vanity Fair photo of Miley Cyrus, according to a Media Matters for America search* of the Nexis news database.
Times reporter David Barstow wrote that "the Bush administration has used its control over access and information in an effort to transform" these military analysts, many of whom have clients with an interest in obtaining Pentagon contracts, "into a kind of media Trojan horse -- an instrument intended to shape terrorism coverage from inside the major TV and radio networks."
As Media Matters noted, the three networks also reportedly declined to participate in a segment on the April 24 edition of PBS' NewsHour regarding the Times story; Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC also refused to appear in the PBS segment.
By contrast, during their April 28 evening newscasts, all three broadcast networks reported on the Vanity Fair photo of Miley Cyrus, star of Disney Channel's Hannah Montana: ABC devoted about two and a half minutes to that story, while CBS and NBC each devoted about two minutes to it.
* Search terms = "publication (ABC or CBS or CNN or MSNBC or NBC or NPR or Fox) and (Pentagon OR (Department w/2 Defense) OR New York Times OR (military w/10 analys!))" Programs searched in the Nexis database on networks that didn't mention the Times report include:
ABC = Good Morning America, Nightline, World News with Charles Gibson
CBS = CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, The Early Show, Face the Nation
NBC = Nightly News with Brian Williams, Today, Meet the Press
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
PENTAGON IGNORES HALF OF VETS WITH BRAIN AND MIND INJURIES
Half of Vets Suffering Brain and Mind Injuries Go Untreated, But Pentagon Pretends Nothing's Going on
By Penny Coleman, AlterNetPosted on April 29, 2008, Printed on April 29, 2008
http://www.alternet.org/story/83742/
The silverbacks are grooming and posturing at the microphones.
Cammo and khaki, wall to wall. Bob Ireland, an Air Force psychiatrist and consultant to the Air Force Surgeon General, welcomes the audience to the Department of Defense's sixth annual Suicide Prevention Conference and makes jokes about how suicide prevention has been the DoD's bastard child, homeless and parentless.
In January 2008, the child nobody wanted finally managed to find a home. The Defense Center of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury assumed responsibility for an issue and an injury that the military has hidden and denied for generations.
It's been left up to Lt. Col. Steven Pflanz, the senior psychiatry policy analyst for the Air Force surgeon general, to report on the mental healthcare practices that have been developed for those on active duty. Kerry Knox, director of the VA's Center for Excellence on Suicide Prevention, was scheduled to share with him these introductory remarks, but is not in attendance. Apologies are made, but no one mentions how obviously difficult it would be for her to get into the self-congratulatory HOOAH! spirit of this conference when her boss just got busted big time for hiding VA suicide statistics, not just to the media but to Congress as well.
"Shh!" Ira Katz, the VA's mental health director, coyly began an email to the agency's chief communications director -- and inconveniently made public just this week. "Our suicide prevention coordinators are identifying about 1,000 suicide attempts per month among the veterans we see in our medical facilities. Is this something we should (carefully) address ourselves in some sort of release before someone stumbles on it?"
Click on this link to read the full story:
http://www.alternet.org/story/83742/
US SHELLING OF SADR CITY KILLS 84--MOSTLY WOMEN AND CHILDREN
U.S. shelling on Sadr City leaves 84 casualties
Baghdad - Voices of Iraq
Tuesday , 29 /04 /2008 Time 8:59:20
http://www.aswataliraq.info/look/english/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrArticle=77800&NrIssue=2&NrSection=1
Baghdad, Apr 29, (VOI) - The death toll from the U.S. shelling on Sadr City in the past 6 hours reached 24 dead and 60 wounded, a medical source said on Tuesday.
“The U.S. shelling in sectors 10 and 11 in Sadr City from 11:00 am until 6:00 pm on Tuesday left 24 dead and 60 wounded, most of them women and children,” the source, who asked for anonymity, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI).
Sadr City, a stronghold of Sadr's Mahdi Army militias, has been witnessing armed clashes since Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced last month the commencement of a security operation codenamed Saulat al-Forsan (Knights' Assault) in the port city of Basra, Iraq's second largest province and an oil-hub, 590 km south of Baghdad, which he said targeted "outlaws."Hundreds of Sadr supporters were killed or wounded in intense fighting, which still continues.
KBR EMPLOYEES STOLE FROM IRAQ AND MELTED DOWN GOLD TO MAKE SPURS
Former KBR employees say workers stole from Iraq, ‘melted down gold to make spurs.
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/29/former-kbr-employees-say-workers-stole-from-iraq-melted-down-gold-to-make-spurs/
Yesterday, two former employees of embattled contract company KBR told a congressional panel that some of their coworkers frequently stole money and artwork from Iraq. One said that “some of her American colleagues doing construction work in Iraqi palaces and municipal buildings took woodcarvings, tapestries and crystal ‘and even melted down gold to make spurs for cowboy boots.’” Another said that “a KBR foreman tried to take military equipment, including two rocket launchers, detonators and ammunition.” Two weeks ago, the firm was awarded a $150 million, 10-year contract for work with the U.S. Army.
NEWEST US CASUALTIES FROM IRAQ. OUTBREAK OF VIOLENCE IN BAGHDAD AND ALL ACROSS IRAQ
The mainstream media continues to focus all their coverage on the dustup over Rev. Jeremy Wright's comments and a concerted effort to torpedo the campaign of Barak Obama while in Iraq more US soldiers have been killed and there is widespread violence in Baghdad and every province in Iraq,
The mainstream media doesn't report on Iraq anymore, but we continue to bring readers of this blog the latest casualties from the Iraq war and the escalating violence that is sweeping across Iraq.
To obtain further information on the stories below just click on the part in "blue."
Casualty Reports:Spc. Ryan Bair of the Oklahoma Army National Guard. Just last month, Bair was manning the gun turret of his Humvee during an escort mission in Iraq when a bomb went off nearby. As he turned his head in the direction of the blast -- at that very precise second -- a sniper's bullet glanced off the left side of his helmet, just above the ear. Had he not turned his head in that flash of time, he would have been killed. Even then, the impact of the bullet knocked him down with a concussion-type injury. Many of his fellow troops in the Humvee thought he was dead. The 26-year-old Bair, attached to Company C, 1st Battalion, 279th Infantry Regiment of the 45th Infantry Brigade, reflected on that pivotal day in March.
Sgt. Marcus Kuboy a Twin Cities soldier wounded in a bomb attack a year ago while serving in the Minnesota National Guard. The Robbinsdale native, served three years of active duty for the Minnesota Guard until he suffered serious injuries in March 2007. He was patrolling the outskirts of Fallujah with his unit when his vehicle ran over an IED bomb. The explosion severely injured Duboy's legs and broke his back, left arm and jaw. In his initial nine months of recovery, Kuboy endured eight surgeries and spent four months at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington. Kuboy, 30, a medic, is now getting more treatment in the Twin Cities.
MNF-Iraq is reporting the deaths of three Multi-National Division - Baghdad soldier in an indirect-fire attack in an eastern neighborhood of Baghdad on Monday, April 28th. No other details were released.
MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a Multi-National Division - Baghdad soldier in an indirect-fire attack in a western neighborhood of Baghdad on Monday, April 28th. No other details were released.NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier while on a patrol in the Tag Ab Valley, Kapisa province, Afghanistan on Tuesday, April 29th. One other soldier was wounded. No additional details were released but we assume this to be an American soldier.
Security incidents:Baghdad:#1: Eight people were killed and 67 were wounded Tuesday in Baghdad's embattled eastern Sadr City district. Overnight clashes resulted in 42 injuries, officials at the Imam Ali and al-Sadr general hospitals said. Eight more were killed and 25 wounded in continuing firefights on Tuesday morning, said the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.Twenty-four militants were killed and four US soldiers wounded in fierce clashes between US soldiers and fighters in the Sadr City district of Baghdad on Tuesday, the American military said. The fighting erupted at around 9:30 am (0630 GMT) when a US patrol was targeted with small arms fire in which a soldier was wounded, Lieutenant Colonel Steven Stover told AFP.As the soldier was being evacuated a US vehicle was struck by two roadside bombs, small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades, he said. The "complex" attack damaged the vehicle and wounded three other soldiers, he said, adding that another US vehicle was later damaged by a third road bomb. Stover said US soldiers defended themselves and "killed 24 enemy forces in a protracted gunbattle," adding that the firefight was still continuing.Shiite militants ambushed a U.S. patrol in Baghdad's embattled Sadr City district on Tuesday and more than two dozen people were killed in the fighting, a U.S. military spokesman and Iraqi officials said. Six American soldiers were wounded. The clashes broke out at 9:30 a.m. after U.S. troops were attacked with rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns, spokesman Lt. Col. Steve Stover said. As the troops were leaving the area, a vehicle was hit with two roadside bombs, Stover said.
#2: Also in Baghdad, a senior government official was killed in a roadside bombing in the north of the city. Dhia Jodi Jaber, director general at the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, was hit by a roadside bomb as he left his home on Tuesday morning, the ministry's spokesman Abdullah al-Lami said.A roadside bomb blew up outside the house of Dhiyaa al-Judi, a civil servant in the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, killing him and wounding two of his guards in the Utaifiya district of eastern Baghdad, police said.
#3: The U.S. military said three soldiers were killed in eastern Baghdad by indirect fire, a reference to mortars or rockets. The statement did not give an exact location for the attack, but the Shiite stronghold of Sadr City has been the scene of intense fighting recently with Shiite militiamen.
#4: A fourth U.S. soldier was killed by a shell in western Baghdad, the military said.
#5: AUSTRALIAN soldiers in Iraq have come under heavy rocket fire in Baghdad's green zone after sandstorms sent blankets of dust across the city and provided cover for insurgents.
#6: Around 1:00 p.m. two mortar shells hit al Jaish club building (the Army Club) in Karrada neighborhood in downtown Baghdad. No casualties reported.
#7: Another mortar shell slammed into the area near the neurosurgery hospital in Bab al Sharj neighborhood in downtown Baghdad at the same time. No casualties reported.
#8: Two civilians were injured when a mortar shell hit al Muheet Street in Kadhemiyah neighborhood north Baghdad around 2,45 p.m.
#9: Three civilians were injured when a mortar shell slammed into a house in Karrad Maryam neighborhood in downtown Baghdad around 3:00 p.m.
#10: Two civilians were killed and five others were wounded when a Katyosha rocket hit New Baghdad neighborhood in east Baghdad around 3:15 p.m.
#11: Several people were believed killed on Tuesday in two US air strikes in the Baghdad bastion of Shiite radical leader Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia, an AFP photographer and witnesses said. "Four houses have been heavily damaged," a resident of the Sadr City district said on condition of anonymity. Another witness said US forces launched the first air strike at around 1:30 pm (1030 GMT) in the southern section of Sadr City. "As a group of people came to rescue those buried in the collapsed houses, another air strike hit them," the witness said.
Diyala Prv:Muqdadiya:#1: Elsewhere, a female suicide bomber blew herself up at a bus stop near Muqdadiyah, about 90 kilometers (60 miles) north of Baghdad, killing one and wounding five people, police said.
Abu Saida:#1: Also on Tuesday, a female suicide bomber blew herself up among a group of local Awakening Council fighters who were manning a checkpoint in the Abu Saida town in Diyala province, northeast of Baghdad, killing two of them and wounding 10 others.Khanaqin:#1: Unidentified gunmen opened fire at three civilians in Jalawlaa, Khanaqin district, (185 km) northeast of Baghdad, killing them instantly," a security source, who did not want his name mentioned, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq.
Balad Ruz:#1: The same source said an improvised explosive device (IED) went off near an Iraqi army patrol in Baladruz district, (45 km) southeast of Baaquba, wounding three personnel.
Baquba:#1: The supporting office of Qazanya district tribes east of Baquba found six unidentified bodies in a deserted house in one of the villages of Qazanya.
Kirkuk:#1: Two bodies were found with gunshot wounds just outside Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
#2: A roadside bomb struck an Iraqi Army patrol, wounding seven people including three soldiers in southern Kirkuk, police said.
#3: A roadside bomb wounded two policemen when it targeted their patrol in central Kirkuk on Monday, police said.
Mosul:#1: Iraqi soldiers at a military base in Mosul, the capital of the northern province of Nineveh, foiled a suicide tanker bomb attack on their base, said the provincial police. The incident occurred at about 7 a.m. (0400 GMT) when a suicide bomber tried to drive his booby-trapped tanker into the army base in the al-Tanak area in western Mosul, Brigadier Khalid Abdul-Sattar, spokesman of the provincial security operations office told Xinhua. The soldiers at the entrance of the base ordered the tanker driver to stop before they opened fire with rocket propelled grenades and machinguns, causing a powerful explosion in the tanker which was heard on all over the city of Mosul, Sattar said. Only one soldier was injured by the blast because the soldiers blew up the tanker before reaching the fortified entrance of the base, added the spokesman.
#2: An Iraqi soldier was killed and five others were injured when a suicide car bomb attacked their check point in al Yarmouk neighborhood in west Mosul on Tuesday afternoon.
Afghanistan:#1: A suspected suicide bomber killed 15 Afghans and wounded 14 more in eastern Afghanistan, close to the border with Pakistan on Tuesday, a NATO spokesman said. Initial reports said 25 Afghans were wounded in the blast near the district centre of Khogiani, a town south of the city of Jalalabad, but the number of wounded was later revised to 14, said Major Martin O'Donnell, a spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).A suicide bomb tore through a team preparing to eradicate opium poppy fields in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, killing 18 people, most of them policemen, the government said. The hardline Taliban movement said one of its men carried out the attack in the small town of Khogyani in the eastern province of Nangarhar, near the insurgency-hit border with Pakistan. The bomb struck as a counternarcotics team, which included the district governor, was preparing to travel to opium fields on a mission to rip up illegal poppy crops, the interior ministry said in a statement. "Eleven police and seven (civilians) lost their lives and 31 others were wounded," it said. The district chief was among the wounded, it said.
#2: U.S. Marines began moving in to capture a town from Taliban militants in the south, their first large operation in Afghanistan since arriving to reinforce NATO troops last month. The U.S. Marines' drive into the town of Garmsir in Helmand, the world' biggest opium producing region and a hotbed of insurgent activity, is the first significant fruit of that move.Several militants were killed and 14 were arrested in western Afghanistan, while US marines and British forces launched a new major operation against a Taliban stronghold in a southern town, officials said on Tuesday. Afghan and US-led coalition forces killed "several militants" and detained 14 others during a search operation in Khash Rod district of western Nimroz province on Monday, US military said in a statement. The combined forces came under fire by rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns during the operation targeting a militant engaged in weapon movement to militants in the area, the statement said. The joint forces responded to the militants' attack with small-arms fire and air strikes, killing several of the rebels.
#3: (?) The Taliban shelled the Polish troops accused of unlawful civilian killings in Nangar Khel, Afghanistan, writes Gazeta Wyborcza daily.
#4: Sabri district chief escaped unharmed after a roadside bomb explosion blew up his vehicle in the restive southeastern Khost province early on Monday morning. Sabri district chief Gul Qasam Jihadyar told Pajhwok Afghan News the roadside bomb explosion took place on his way to the office in the district this morning. He said: "The explosion blew up a taxi after our vehicle passed." Blaming insurgents for the roadside bomb explosion he said the civilian taxi was damaged however no casualties caused to the onboard people. Taliban fighters have issued no comment on the incident.
JUAN COLE: MORTAR, ROCKET ATTACKS IN BAGHDAD.REPORT ON CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS ABANDONED
Juan Cole, the award winning journalist, reports on the increase in mortar and rocket attacks in Baghdad, and how many construction projects paid for US taxpayer money have been abandoned before they were finished because of security problems.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
http://juancole.com/
Mortar, Rocket attacks in Baghdad; in aftermath of Militia Campaign
Baghdad has been roiled for the past three days with major fighting between Iraqi government/ US forces and the Mahdi Army militia in east and north Baghdad, leaving 45 militiamen dead and an unstated number of Iraqi troops. At one point on Sunday, the a Mahdi Army company nearly took a government checkpoint in the northeast, and the US had to bring in a tank to save the Iraqi army unit.Guerrillas launched numerous mortar and katyusha rocket attacks on Monday.
Reuters reports: "A mortar round landed behind the Rashid Hotel in the Green Zone government compound, wounding five people including a child, police said . . . Five people were wounded in a mortar attack in Abu Nawas street in central Baghdad . . . Three mortar bombs landed on a police station in Jazair district, eastern Baghdad, wounding three policemen . . . A mortar blast wounded one person in the Mansour district, western Baghdad . . .
"On Monday, Two mass graves have been found in Iraq in the past two days, each with about 50 bodies in them. Sunni Arab guerrilla groups made "collaborators" or rivals disappear this way as an object lesson.The alleged flow of arms from Iran to south Iraq has not in fact increased in recent months (and my own suspicion is that US authorities mistake some black market arms selling for Iranian-government supplied weaponry). So why does the Bush administration and Pentagon stridency about Iran go up an down without reference to any facts on the ground? Seems to me that they deploy charges against Iran in an Orwellian way, as a tool of diplomatic pressure, when it suits them.
McClatchy profiles Brg. Gen. Qassem Suleimani of the Quds Force within the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. It is a good story, but it reflects the breathlessness of Green Zone conspiracy theories. For instance, some American alleged to the reporters that Suleimani engineered the victory of the Shiite religious parties in January 2005 over Iyad Allawi. Allawi had been appointed by the US, was an ex-Baathist, and a known CIA asset. He was defeated by a coalition list of Shiite parties that had struggled against Saddam Hussein and were endorsed by Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani. Attributing their defeat of Allawi to the Quds Force is just silly. Likewise, the allegations of extensive Iranian spying on Iraq or of bringing in "Hizbullah" from Lebanon (for which there is no good evidence) are unproved and the premise is unnecessary. If the Badr Corps was until recently part of the Iranian military, as the authors concede, then you don't need to posit a lot of phantom Iranian agents who are providing intelligence on Iraq to Tehran. Badr, Ahmad Chalabi, and other supposed US assets are double agents, guys. If Iraq were crawling with Iranian agents, the US would have more Iranians in custody than it does (last I knew, it was like 5 diplomats).
AFP draws aside the curtain on the micro-economy of the struggle between the Islamic State of Iraq of Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and local clans in Iskandariya south of Baghdad, which centered on the region's fish farms. The article also gives evidence that al-Baghdadi, who the US military maintains is a fictive personality created by foreign fighters to give themselves Iraqi legitimacy, is a real Iraqi person with a history in the Iskandariya area. The US is mostly fighting Iraqis in Iraq, but is reluctant to have this fact become known.
A lot of money was wasted on phantom reconstruction projects in Iraq left incomplete because of poor contractor performance. In other words, US tax payers made an involuntary contribution to Friends of George, which would be a good way of summing up the Iraq occupation in general.
The US Pentagon is suspending a campaign to influence the retired military talking heads who come on television in the US, after the NYT blew the whistle on it. Reuters notes: "Sen. Carl Levin, the Michigan Democrat who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, also said some of the analysts appeared to be working for defense contractors, raising a potential conflict of interest." You always suspected these things about corporate media coverage of Iraq, but seeing it in cold black and white is bracing. I have more than once been put opposite some sunshine peddler on radio or television and wondered whether the person was on the take.McClatchy reports political violence in Iraq on Monday:
' Baghdad- Around 11 pm Sunday, 4 mortar shells hit the Green Zone (IZ) in central Baghdad. No casualties reported.- Around midnight, 3 mortars hit the intelligence headquarters in Baladiyat neighborhood (east Baghdad). No casualties reported.- Around 3 am, three mortar shells hit Mamil neighborhood. Five people were injured in that incident.- Around 8 am, a mortar hit the Green Zone (IZ) in central Baghdad. No casualties reported.- Around 10 am, a mortar hit the area beyond the Sa'aa restaurant at Mansour neighborhood (west Baghdad). Two civilians were injured in that incident.- Around 1 pm, 3 mortar shells hit Al-Jazaer police station in Sadr city. Three policemen were injured with some damage to the building.- Around 1:30pm, An American warplane targeted a Hino truck which was carrying Katyusha missiles at Al-Qanat street (east Baghdad). Two people were injured in that incident.- Around 2 pm, a motor bicycle bomb targeted Sahwa members (also known as Sons of Iraq). One member was killed and three others were injured.- Around 2 :15 pm, a roadside bomb targeted a civilian car (Toyota Pick up ) which was carrying technicians employees of the power supply service on the high way of Nahdha neighborhood (north Baghdad).Three of the employees were injured in that incident.- Around 2:30 pm, a roadside bomb targeted the Sahwa members check point at Adhamiyah neighborhood (north Baghdad) near Qasim Abu Al-Ghas restaurant .Three members were injured in that incident.- Around 4:30 pm, a Katyusha missile hit Al-Sadeer hotel in Karrada neighborhood (central Baghdad).No casualties or damage recorded as it was in the garden of this hotel.- Around 5 pm, a mortar shell hit an area behind the Rashid hotel in the green zone (IZ) which is a residential compound .Five people were injured in that incident including a child.- Around 5 :30 pm, a roadside bomb targeted an American patrol in Amil neighborhood (west Baghdad) .No casualties reported on the American side .While we have four civilians injured in that incident including a child and woman.- Police found 6 dead bodies in Baghdad today: 4 were found in Karkh bank of Baghdad ; 1 in Kadhimiyah, 1 in Hurriyah, 1 in Dora and 1 in Yarmouk. While 2 were found in east Baghdad (Risafa bank); 1 in Ur and 1 in Jisr Diyala.Diyala- Around 4:30 pm, gunmen of the Qaeda attacked Al-Bayjat village (south of Baquba ). The residents of the village who join the Sahwas (Sons of Iraq) councils resisted them and killed five gunmen including a leader.Kirkuk- Sunday night, gunmen opened fire on an Iraqi army soldier at Tuz Khurmatu (south of Kirkuk).The soldier was killed at once and the gunmen ran away.Basra- Before noon, gunmen killed a Sadrist leader at Timimiyah neighborhood downtown Basra. Also his wife was injured as she was with him walking home. '
Monday, April 28, 2008
NEWSWEEK: GREEN ZONE HAS BECOME LATEST BATTLEGROUND IN IRAQ
Unsafe Haven
Baghdad's Green Zone has become the latest battleground in the struggle for Iraq.
Lennox Samuels
Newsweek Web Exclusive
Updated: 4:05 PM ET Apr 28, 2008
http://www.newsweek.com/id/134596
For several days there was a lull. But then rockets and mortars started slamming into the Green Zone on Sunday afternoon and kept coming well into the night, as if the Shiite fighters in Sadr City were making up for the respite. A heavy dust storm choked Baghdad, adding a sense of claustrophobia while providing the insurgents cover.
"They're getting closer and closer," noted veteran security expert Mike Arrighi. Arrighi, who works and lives in the tightly defended Zone, says that this week's barrage shows the same "consistency, intensity and ferocity" of the initial attacks that began almost a month ago. That bombardment tapered off after the first week, as the U.S. military quickly neutralized many Shiite launch sites. But this week's barrage suggested that the militants haven't yet had the fight knocked out of them.
This could turn into a drawn-out siege. Infuriated by recent Iraqi government crackdowns on Shiite militias and criminals in Basra and southern Baghdad, the insurgents in the impoverished neighborhood of Sadr City appear have set their sights on the psychologically important Green Zone.
The shelling has killed two American soldiers and two civilians who worked for the U.S. government or military and injured at least two dozen others.
In Sadr City, U.S. and Iraqi retaliation has left dozens dead. U.S and Iraqi Army brass say they have crippled the insurgents' ability to fire rockets into the area, but this week's renewed shelling has some worried that the Green Zone may become a new battleground in the struggle for Iraq.
Cornered in their sprawling inburb of about 2.5 million people and stoked by incendiary rhetoric from radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who threatened all-out war against the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, the Shiite groups have lashed out at the Zone with heavy mortars and Katyusha rockets. They had few options other than the airborne offensive.
Heavy fortifications and massive concrete barriers make small-arms attacks virtually impossible. The ground campaign ordered by Maliki has thinned their numbers. Rigorous security at checkpoints and ever vigilant Zone police patrols have made car bombs, IEDS and suicide bombings much harder to organize. "They have to go over our heads," says a U.S. embassy staffer who requested anonymity.
Click on link to read full Newsweek story.
POTPOURRI OF EVENTS IN IRAQ: SHELLING OF GREEN ZONE CONTINUES LATE MONDAY
The mainstream media in the US have gone totally ballistic over Rev. Jeremy Wright's speech at the National Press Club and it has given them just another reason not to cover the war in Iraq.
We have not been "told" by owners and editors to avoid the war and so we keep bringing our blog readers the latest from Iraq.
Here is a potpourri of events in Iraq on Monday. Click on BLUE for more details.
Three Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers were killed as the result of an indirect-fire attack in eastern Baghdad at approximately 1:05 p.m. April 28. Another soldier was killed by indirect fire in western Baghdad, the military said separately.
Shelling of the Green Zone continues, at least three more rocket or mortar strikes. No reported casualties at this time.The U.S. has also reported killing additional Iraqis in the ongoing clashes in Sadr City since Whisker's post this morning.
The total of Iraqi dead in the past 24 hours is now given as 45. The ongoing violence occurs in the context of a sandstorm which has grounded U.S. attack helicopters.Note: there have been additional incidents reported in various places around the country since Whisker's post this morning. I'll let him compile them tomorrow.Other NewsThe Pentagon says it has "suspended" a program to falsely present retired military personnel on U.S. television as "independent" analysts, which was reported in the New York Times last week. However, they apparently intend to bring it back once the dust has settled.It is revealed that a Tufts University Institute and a Finnish non-governmental organization have been sponsoring meetings among Iraqi factional leaders outside of the country, beginning in September 2007. The participants now plan to continue to meet in Baghdad. However, the Sadrists are not participating and it is not clear what support there may be within the rival communities for this process.
AP reports that the U.S. is having difficulty handing over reconstruction projects to Iraqi authorities. Excerpt:
The U.S. is struggling to hand Iraq control of many of its reconstruction projects after spending tens of billions of dollars on them since the 2003 invasion, a report said Monday."The U.S. program continues to have serious weaknesses that ultimately could place much of the U.S. reconstruction investment at risk," warned the report by Stuart W. Bowen Jr., special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction.Since 2003, Congress has approved $46 billion to rebuild Iraq's war-torn infrastructure, including oil production plants and pipelines. The expectation after the U.S. invasion had been that it would take up to 18 months for Iraq to assume responsibility for reconstruction efforts, using its oil revenues.In recent months, lawmakers have suggested that Baghdad pay more of the tab for the war in light of Iraq's burgeoning oil revenues, which are expected to hit $70 billion this year — twice what was initially expected because of soaring fuel prices. Democrats and even some Republicans say Iraq will be more likely to accept responsibility for the projects if they are financially invested.Administration officials, reluctant to restrict U.S. aid and slow progress, have countered that Baghdad is already taking control. Earlier this month, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker declared in congressional testimony that "the era of U.S. major infrastructure projects is over." Indeed, in recent months, the U.S. has refocused its spending on smaller local projects and building the capacity of the Iraqi security forces, rather than the major bricks-and-mortar efforts that dominated the early part of the war.But according to the inspector general, the U.S. and Iraq have yet to agree on the terms of handing over many of these assets. And with no one senior-level Iraqi official in charge of overseeing the transfers, U.S. officials are resorting to negotiations at the local level and, in some cases, handing over projects without explicit consent.
Richard Butler doesn't know who kidnapped him or why. However, he says he'd prefer to be kidnapped by unknown militants in Iraq than held prisoner by the Americans. "I was pleased I wasn't being mortarboarded in Guantanamo or being held for six and a half years like an Al-Jazeera cameraman, for instance," he said. And I guess I'll call that the Quote of the Day.
USA TODAY BREAKING NEWS: 4 US SOLDIERS KILLED IN BAGHDAD
4 U.S. soldiers die in Baghdad attacks
BAGHDAD (AP) — Four American soldiers were killed Monday in rocket or mortar attacks in separate volleys in Baghdad.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2008-04-28-baghdad-soldiers_N.htm
The attacks raised the monthly U.S. death toll to at least 44, making it the deadliest since September.
Three of the Multi-National Division — Baghdad soldiers were killed just after 1 p.m. in an eastern section of the capital, the military said.
The statement did not give an exact location for the attack, but the area has been the scene of intense fighting recently between Shiite militiamen and U.S.-Iraqi troops.
Another soldier was killed by indirect fire in western Baghdad, the military said separately, using its term for a rocket or mortar attack.
In all, at least 4,056 members of the U.S. military have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
Earlier Monday, militants shelled Baghdad's Green Zone as troops tried to push Shiite fighters farther from the U.S.-protected enclave and out of range for their rockets and mortars.
At least three more salvos hit the Green Zone in central Baghdad, but there were no reports of injuries. In Sadr City — the stronghold of the Mahdi Army militia — U.S. soldiers battled deeper into the district a day after fierce clashes that killed at least 38 suspected militants, the military said.
U.S. soldiers killed seven more extremists Monday after coming under small-arms fire in Sadr City, the military said. Four of the suspects were killed in an airstrike and three others by an Abrams tank crew, according to a statement.
Sadr City has become the center of a showdown between the Iraqi government and the Mahdi Army, which is led by anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. U.S. forces have been increasingly drawn into the battles — including operations seeking to curb a rise in mortar and rocket attacks on the Green Zone.
"DUCK AND COVER" ALARM SOUNDED IN GREEN ZONE. 2 KILLED. 20 WOUNDED
Baghdad Green Zone blasted under cover of storm.
Iraqi police said eight missiles or mortars had hit the Green Zone and another 14 fell in other parts of the Iraqi capital, killing two people and wounding 20.
By Wisam Mohammed and Peter Graff
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080427/ts_nm/iraq_dc_2
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Militants bombarded Baghdad's Green Zone with rockets, taking advantage of the cover of a blinding dust storm to launch one of the heaviest strikes in weeks on the fortified compound.
The strikes appeared to defy a renewed call for a ceasefire issued on Friday by Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, which has seen many of his masked gunmen leave the streets of the Sadr City slum where they hold sway in eastern Baghdad.
Reuters correspondents heard the missiles whistling overhead and exploding inside the heavily fortified government and diplomatic compound on the west side of the Tigris River. Sirens wailed, ordering people to take cover.
"The Green Zone has received several rounds of IDF (indirect fire) but I can't say more than that," U.S. embassy spokesman Armand Cucciniello said. "The duck and cover alarm sounded and people ran out for cover."
Militiamen have fired 700 missiles and mortars over the past month, but U.S. forces had said they believed they had reduced the fighters' ability to strike the Green Zone by occupying the part of the Sadr City slum closest to it.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
179 IRAQIS KILLED; 131 WOUNDED IN ONE DAY
The US military continues to say the "surge" is working, however on Sunday alone 179 Iraqis were killed and another 131 wounded.
The Green Zone was hit by mortar attacks and at this time it is still unclear if there have been any casualties.
Meanwhile, back in the United States the mainstream media continues to treat the Iraq war like it was all over. Seldom are there reports on the violence that is escalating in Iraq, and April saw the highest number of IED attacks on US troops in months.
Sunday: 179 Iraqis Killed, 131 Wounded; Mass Graves Found
Updated at 12:25 a.m. EDT, April 28, 2008
http://www.antiwar.com/updates/?articleid=12750
At least 101 bodies were found in two separate mass graves. Another 78 people were killed or found dead, and 131 more were wounded in other violence. No Coalition deaths were reported.
In political news, several dozen lawmakers from different blocs staged a sit-in, asking that the blockade of Sadr City and the military operations there be ended. Meanwhile, attempts at bringing boycotting Sunni politicians back into the Shi'ite-led government are underway.
Fifty bodies were recovered from a grave in al-Kabba. The victims had been bound and handcuffed, and the bodies were in varying states of decomposition. The village is in the greater Baquba area, where numerous mass graves have been found.
Another 51 bodies were found in Mahmudiya, just south of Baghdad. Authorities have found a number of mass graves there in recent weeks. Family members were able to identify some of the victims.
In Baghdad, six dumped bodies were found. A pair of roadside bombs killed an Iraqi soldier and wounded six people in Mansour. In Maalif, five people were killed and 15 more were injured during clashes. A suicide bomber killed three people and wounded nine others in Zayouna. A roadside bomb in Shabb killed three policeman and wounded 14 people. In Kadhimiya, mortar fire left one dead and six wounded. Five people were injured during shelling in Baladiyat. Mortars fell in the Green Zone, but no casualties were reported. A roadside bomb targeting a U.S. patrol in Amin failed to cause casualties, but mortars that fell there killed one person and injured seven more. Also, U.S. forces reported killing 22 gunmen who attacked a checkpoint in northeastern Baghdad.
Overnight clashes in Sadr City left 10 people dead and 43 wounded. Women and children were among the casualties. Also, U.S authorities reported killing seven suspects in separate incidents.
In Mosul, clashes left one civilian dead and another injured. A civilian was shot and killed during a separate incident. Two separate roadside bombs left four injured. Two civilians were injured when gunmen attacked a checkpoint in southern Mosul. Four policemen were killed during a suicide bombing. Also, gunmen shot dead a man and a woman in central Mosul.
In Diyala province, one Awakening Council (Sahwa) leader was killed and three others were wounded in separate incidents. A police officer was killed and three others were injured when their vehicle overturned after coming under fire from gunmen. Also, three Iraqi army servicemembers were arrested in connection with the escape of an al-Qaeda leader.
A woman was killed and four civilians were wounded when their vehicle struck a roadside bomb planted in Samarra.
An Iraqi soldier was killed during a drive-by shooting in Tuz Khormato. Also, two men and a woman were arrested after an explosives belt was discovered in their possession.
Gunmen killed a police officer outside his home in Diwaniya.
A roadside bomb in Ninewah province killed two policemen and wounded five others, including civilians.
The body of a policeman was found near Baiji.
Seven suspects were captured in Basra.
Four suspects were arrested in Karbala.
In al-Shatra, security forces freed a hostage.
Two policemen were gunned down in Tikrit.
Gunmen attacked the al-Khaldiyah police station near Ramadi. One gunman was killed. Two gunmen and two policemen were injured.
WASHINGTON POST: A STORM OF SAND AND SHELLS RIP INTO GREEN ZONE
A Storm of Sand and Shelling. Heavy Fire Aimed at Green Zone as Ground Forces Continue Push Into Sadr City
By Sholnn FreemanWashington Post Foreign ServiceMonday, April 28, 2008; A10
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/27/AR2008042701944.html
BAGHDAD, April 27 -- Shelling rocked the Green Zone as a sandstorm blanketed Baghdad on Sunday, days after U.S. commanders said they had nearly eliminated deadly rocket and mortar attacks on the heavily fortified government zone through a security crackdown in the eastern slum of Sadr City.
Clashes continued over the weekend in Sadr City, where U.S. and Iraqi forces have confronted fighters tied to the Mahdi Army, the Shiite militia loyal to anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. The U.S. military said drones fired Hellfire missiles, killing at least three men believed to be engaging in bomb attacks.
Abu Ammar al-Mayahi, a Mahdi Army fighter, said that U.S. and Iraqi forces continued to press into Sadr City on Sunday but that the dust storm curtailed U.S. use of air power.
Ground forces had been limited to city blocks at the edge of the district where authorities are building a security wall, he said. "The situation is intense," he added. "The weather is dusty. They are trying to get further inside."
Civilians living in the Green Zone said the rocket and mortar attacks Sunday were in double digits. A U.S. Embassy spokesman said there were no reports of casualties in the zone. A military spokesman said he knew of at least two Iraqi civilians killed and one wounded in the shelling, which often falls short of the compound.
The continuing violence has dimmed hopes that a cease-fire order issued by Sadr in August and reaffirmed on Friday would ease tensions in the city. Sadr said Friday that his threat this month of an "open war until liberation" did not mean a fight against Iraq's government, but rather "the occupier," meaning U.S. and allied foreign troops.
The move was seen as an attempt to lower tensions between Sadr's political movement and the Shiite-led government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Maliki initiated an offensive against Shiite militiamen last month in the southern city of Basra, and it quickly spread to Baghdad. Iraqi commanders have described Sadr City, where the Mahdi Army holds much control, as a foothold for armed outlaws.
The neighborhood was the scene of a sit-in protest Sunday led by members of the Sadr bloc in parliament, demanding an end to a three-week-old blockade of Sadr City and an end to military operations there.
Falah Hasan Shanshal, a parliament member who is a Sadr City resident, was among the protesters. He called for "dialogue and understanding" in place of the fighting, which he said was killing innocent women and children. He also called for a second sit-in on Monday.
On a satellite television program, Yaseen Majeed, a media adviser for the prime minister, called the sit-in a "cover for the outlaws."
Also Sunday, President Jalal Talabani met with parliament Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani to discuss ways to end the Sadr City fighting, which he described in a statement as a "crisis between the government and the Sadr trend."
Lt. Col. Steve Stover, a spokesman for U.S. forces in Baghdad, said late Sunday that U.S. soldiers were tracking several engagements in eastern Baghdad, which he said amounted to "un-aimed harassment fire." Stover said the attacks involved small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades.
"We are not the aggressor," he said. "We went into south Sadr City to stop the rocket and mortar attacks."
HOW REUTERS IS REPORTING GREEN ZONE ATTACK
Baghdad Green Zone blasted under cover of storm
By Wisam Mohammed and Peter Graff
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/KKAA-7E52ZZ?OpenDocument&rc=3&cc=irq
BAGHDAD, April 27 (Reuters) - Militants bombarded Baghdad's Green Zone with rockets on Sunday, taking advantage of the cover of a blinding dust storm to launch one of the heaviest strikes in weeks on the fortified compound.
The strikes appeared to defy a renewed call for a ceasefire by Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, which has seen many of his masked gunmen leave the streets of the Sadr City slum where they hold sway in eastern Baghdad.
Reuters correspondents heard the missiles whistling overhead and exploding inside the heavily fortified government and diplomatic compound on the west side of the Tigris River in Baghdad. Sirens wailed, ordering people to take cover.
Iraqi police said eight missiles or mortars had hit the Green Zone and another 14 fell in other parts of the Iraqi capital before nightfall in several quick bursts, killing two people and wounding 20.
"The Green Zone has received several rounds of IDF (indirect fire) but I can't say more than that," U.S. embassy spokesman Armand Cucciniello said. "The duck and cover alarm sounded and people ran out for cover."
Several more missiles were fired late on Sunday evening but it was unclear if there were any casualties.
Go back to link to read the full account by REUTERS.
YAHOO AND AP REPORT: GREEN ZONE SHELLED AMID SANDSTORM. WORST ATTACK IN WEEKS
Suspected Shiite extremists hammered the U.S.-protected Green Zone Sunday in the fiercest salvo in weeks, apparently taking advantage of a sandstorm that blanketed the capital and grounded the American aircraft that normally prowl for launching teams.
By KIM GAMEL, Associated Press WriterSun Apr 27, 4:01 PM ET
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/iraq;_ylt=AgTkXvusbgT5LuDIpzyzocNX6GMA
Thunderous explosions resounded throughout the evening as rockets or mortar shells slammed into the heavily fortified area in central Baghdad.
Sirens wailed in the Green Zone, which houses the U.S. Embassy and much of the Iraqi government on the west side of the Tigris River. The public address system warned people to "duck and cover" and stay away from windows.
The U.S. Embassy confirmed the area was hit by indirect fire, the military's term for rocket or mortar attacks, but said it had no immediate word on casualties.
The Green Zone has been regularly shelled since fighting broke out over a U.S.-backed government crackdown against militias that began in late March. At least four Americans, including two soldiers, have been killed in the attacks.
But the U.S. military has claimed success with operations that have effectively sealed off the southern section of Baghdad's Sadr City, a militia stronghold that is believed to be one of the prime launching sites for the Green Zone attacks.
American commanders have blamed what they call Iranian-backed Shiite factions they say have broken with a cease-fire imposed by al-Sadr in late August.
A local hospital official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information, said one person was killed and 11 others wounded in street battles.
In all, at least 349 Iraqis have been killed since the daily clashes began on March 25, 34 of them since Wednesday, according to an Interior Ministry official who declined to be identified for the same reason.
Heavy clashes also broke out between Shiite militiamen and Iraqi troops in the Maalif area on the southwestern edge of Baghdad. Police said that five people died and 14 were wounded in the fighting. The U.S. military said its forces were not involved.
AP Television News footage from the area showed a minibus riddled with bullets and a pool of blood in another minibus.
Two suicide car bombers also targeted Iraqi forces elsewhere in Baghdad. One killed three people and wounded nine and another killed two and wounded five.
Northeast of Baghdad, Iraqi troops also unearthed a mass grave containing more than 50 decomposed bodies in an orchard in an area that had been controlled by al-Qaida in Iraq near Baqouba, according to the Diyala provincial coordination center.
___
BREAKING NEWS UPDATE ON GREEN ZONE ATTACK
Green Zone attacked during sandstorm
Salvo comes amid political talks, reports of 100 bodies in two mass graves
MSNBC News Services
updated 12:09 p.m. CT, Sun., April. 27, 2008
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24339056/
BAGHDAD - Militants fired a salvo of rockets or mortars at the heavily guarded Green Zone in Baghdad on Sunday, while officials reported that Iraqi security forces had found more than 100 bodies in two mass graves.
The militants apparently were taking advantage of a sandstorm that blanketed the Iraqi capital Sunday and grounded U.S. helicopters and drones that normally track their activities.
Green Zone blastsIn Baghdad, at least eight rounds slammed into the Green Zone, which houses the Iraqi government and U.S. Embassy, said a police official who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Sirens could be heard from the area and loudspeakers warned residents to take cover. There was no immediate word on casualties or damage.
An Iraqi military spokesman said that over the past month, militants had fired a total of 712 missiles and mortar rounds inside Baghdad.
"They were all Iranian-made brought into Iraq in many ways," Brig. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi told reporters. He did not elaborate on how the security forces had determined the origin of the exploded munitions.
The Green Zone has been regularly shelled since March, and two American soldiers were killed in the bombardment earlier this month.
Elsewhere in Baghdad, a suicide car bomber blew himself up at a security checkpoint in the eastern neighborhood of Zayouna killing three people and injuring nine, a police officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to release the information.
U.S. spokesman Rear Adm. Patrick Driscoll said a series of recent car bombings and suicide attacks showed that al-Qaida in Iraq remains "a very lethal threat" and said the military would continue to pursue the insurgents "with great intensity."
Fifty bodies were found in a mass grave in central Iraq on Sunday, a military source in the area said, and another team said it had discovered more than 50 bodies in a grave south of Baghdad on April 17.
The grave found on Sunday was in the village of al-Guba, 50 miles north of Baghdad, in the troubled Diyala province, where al-Qaida Sunni Arab militants have regrouped after being driven out of other parts of the country.
Most of the bodies had their hands bound and gunshot wounds in the head. Some were decomposed, according to the military source, who declined to be named.
BAGHDAD GREEN ZONE BLASTED UNDER COVER OF DUST STORM
http://www.legitgov.org/
All items are here:
http://www.legitgov.org/#breaking_news
'The duck and cover alarm sounded and people ran out for cover.' Baghdad Green Zone blasted under cover of storm 27 Apr 2008 Militants bombarded Baghdad's Green Zone with rockets on Sunday, taking advantage of the cover of a blinding dust storm to launch the heavy strike.
Reuters correspondents heard the missiles whistling overhead and exploding inside the heavily fortified government and diplomatic compound on the west side of the Tigris River.
Iraqi police said eight missiles or mortars had hit the Green Zone and another 14 fell in other parts of the Iraqi capital, killing two people and wounding 20.
Updates to follow.
BREAKING NEWS: IRAQI LAWMAKERS STAGE SIT-IN PROTESTING US TROOPS
The situation in Iraq continues to spiral out of control and the mainstream media in the United States continues to act like everything is fine in Iraq.
More than 50 Iraqi lawmakers have staged a sit-in protesting US troops and the military action against the citizens of Sadr City in Baghdad.
Nobody seems to be in control and as each day passes the situation in Iraq approaches the boiling over point.
There is a very strong possibility the friction between the Iraqi lawmakers and the US military in Iraq could end up spreading to other provinces in Iraq and then the country will once again be thrown into an all out civil war.
MPs stage sit-in to protest blockade on Sadr City
Baghdad - Voices of Iraq
Sunday , 27 /04 /2008 Time 7:21:37
http://www.aswataliraq.info/look/english/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrArticle=77581&NrIssue=2&NrSection=1
Baghdad, Apr 27, (VOI) – More than 50 lawmakers representing different blocs staged on Sunday a sit-in demanding the blockade imposed on the eastern Baghdad district of Sadr City for three weeks now be lifted and for military operations to cease, a legislator from the Sadrist bloc, or Iraqis loyal to Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr, said.
"The sit-in, which began at 12:00 p.m. in Sadr City, aims at having the military operations within it come to a halt and the blockade lifted," Falah Shanshal, a member of parliament from the Sadrist bloc, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI)."We call for dialogue and understanding away from killings that target the innocent women and children in the city," Shanshal said."The sit-in will end at 5:00 p.m. today.
If the government fails to respond to the legislators' demands, we will plan another sit-in for Monday," he added.The Sadrist bloc holds 30 out of a total 275 seats in the Iraqi Parliament.Shanshal said that the sit-in was attended by Safiya al-Suhail, an independent member of parliament, Ahmed Radi, an MP from the Sunni Iraqi Accordance Front (IAF), Samira al-Musawi, an MP from the Shiite Unified Iraqi Coalition (UIC) and Mustafa al-Lahiti, a lawmaker from the Arab Bloc for National Dialogue.
WHAT A MESS. NOW IRAQI POLITICAL LEADERS ARE UPSET WITH US FOR ATTACKS ON SADR CITY
If things weren't already bad enough in Iraq, about 50 Iraqi political leaders have announced they are protesting the US military forces siege of Sadr City inside of Baghdad. Also, a top US military commander says he doesn't think the followers of Muqtada al-Sadr are paying any attention to his wishes to stop the violence in Iraq. The country is in total chaos and the mainstream media in the United States continues to ignore the growing crisis in Iraq.
Iraqi political leaders protest U.S. siege of Sadr City
Hussein Kadhim and Raviya H. Ismail McClatchy Newspapers
last updated: April 27, 2008 02:07:16 PM
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/iraq/story/35066.html
BAGHDAD, Iraq_ About 50 leaders representing a variety of Iraqi political blocs took to Baghdad's Sadr City on Sunday, a stronghold of fiery religious leader Muqtada al Sadr, to protest the U.S.-led siege of that area.
The leaders promised to work together with Sadrists to remove insurgents and weapons in the area. But they also had six other demands of the government, including that it immediately suspend military activity in the city, supply basic services to residents and prioritize peaceful solutions over military conflicts.
"Whatever point the crisis reaches we will keep our efforts to put an end to it," said Ahmed Radhi, a member of the Iraqi Accordance Front, the largest Sunni Muslim bloc. Radhi said the leaders formed a committee to meet with Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki to solve problems plaguing Sadr City.
"We have a delegation meeting with Maliki to let him know the real situation going on in the city," said Nassar al Rubaie, a Sadrist. "We have lawmakers from different blocs and parties to come and watch the situation on the ground."
Lawmakers representing the Iraqi National Accord, the Iraqi Front for National Dialogue and the Kurdish alliance also were present. The leaders said they were moved by pictures of civilian casualties as well as the health crisis plaguing residents in Sadr City.
The protest came just days after Sadr instructed his Mahdi Army militia to stop fighting the mostly Shiite Iraqi security forces in Sadr City and the southern port city of Basra. The U.S.-backed Iraqi forces have continually battled with insurgents in both areas since Maliki led a siege of Basra at the end of March.
Sadr's latest message, delivered during Friday prayers, called for the bloodshed between Iraqis to stop, yet asked for a united force against the U.S. occupation of Iraq.
"We want liberation of ourselves and our lands from the occupier," part of the message read. "To have a real government and have real sovereignty."
There has been relative calm in the east Baghdad slum of Sadr City in the past few days after weeks of pitched battles and bombings between Iraqi security forces and insurgents.
In other areas of Baghdad violence continued. Up to five people were killed in separate bomb attacks and gun battles in the Mansour, Zayuna and Bayaa areas Sunday. Insurgents also fired rockets and mortars into the Green Zone, the heavily fortified compound that houses U.S. and Iraqi administration offices. No casualties were reported.
But the U.S.-backed Iraqi forces in Sadr City are not only fighting Mahdi Army militiamen, said Lt. Col. Steve Stover, the U.S. military spokesman for Baghdad.
"I don't think it's all Muqtada al Sadr (followers) and I don't think everyone is listening to him," Stover said. Insurgents are "continuing to attack us now even since Sadr's last message."
DETAILS ON LATEST US DEATHS IN IRAQ: NAMES AND HOMETOWNS
This is the latest list of US casualties in Iraq. To obtain further details on each GI killed in Iraq, click on the part in "blue."
Latest Coalition Fatalities
04/25/08 DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Sgt. Guadalupe Cervantes Ramirez, 26, of Fort Irwin, Calif., died April 23 at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, of injuries suffered in a vehicle incident. He was assigned to the 2nd Transportation Company (Heavy Equipment Transport...
04/25/08 DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Staff Sgt. Shaun J. Whitehead, 24, of Commerce, Ga., died April 24 in Iskandariyah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when he encountered an improvised explosive device while on a dismounted patrol. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment...
04/25/08 DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Staff Sgt. Ronald C. Blystone, 34, of Springfield, Mo., died April 23 in Baghdad, Iraq, from wounds suffered when he encountered small arms fire during a dismounted patrol. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment...
04/25/08 DoD Identifies Army Casualties (2 of 2)
1st Lt. Timothy W. Cunningham, 26, of College Station, Texas...died April 23 in Golden Hills, Iraq, of injuries suffered in a vehicle incident. They were assigned to the 1st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team...
04/25/08 DoD Identifies Army Casualties (1 of 2)
Pfc. John T. Bishop, 22, of Gaylord, Mich...died April 23 in Golden Hills, Iraq, of injuries suffered in a vehicle incident. They were assigned to the 1st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division...
04/25/08 DoD Identifies Marine Casualties (2 0f 2)
Lance Cpl. Jordan C. Haerter, 19, of Sag Harbor, N.Y...assigned to the 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune...died 4/22 from wounds suffered while conducting combat operations...
04/25/08 DoD Identifies Marine Casualties (1 0f 2)
Cpl. Jonathan T. Yale, 21, of Burkeville, Va...assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune...died 4/22 from wounds suffered while conducting combat operations...
DISPUTE RESOLVED OVER NUMBER OF IRAQI CIVILIANS KILLED
A dispute over the number of Iraqi civilians, including women and children, who have been killed in the latest attack by US forces in Baghdad, appears to have been resolved.
Here is how the story unfolds: (click on part in BLUE to read the account)
BaghdadClashes continue between U.S. and Iraqi forces and JAM (Sadrist) fighters in "eastern Baghdad" (presumably Sadr City). Reuters reports 10 people killed, including a woman and 2 children, 42 injured. AP gives a lower casualty total but does say that 4 of the injured are children. Al Jazeera gives the death toll as 8, wounded as 44. AFP appears to resolve the conflicting death tolls, reporting that 8 people were killed during the overnight, including the civilians, while the U.S. military reported 2 more militants killed in the morning.Suicide bomber attacks checkpoint in Zayouna neighborhood, killing 2 Iraqi soldiers and injuring 5.One killed, 4 injured in clashes between U.S. forces and fighters believed to belong to JAM in western Baghdad suburb of al-Bayyaa. Car bomb attack on police patrol near al-Shaab kills 1 police officer, wounds 3. VoI also reports IED attack on an army patrol in Mansour, killing 1 soldier and injuring 6. This is probably the same incident which Reuters describes somewhat differently,as two bombs exploding within a few minutes of each other, killing 1 soldier and injuring 4 soldiers and 2 civilians.
Tuz KhurmatoDrive by shooting kills 1 Iraqi soldier.
MosulOne civilian killed, 1 injured, apparently in crossfire during clashes between security forces and unidentified gunmen.VoI also reports an unexplained attack that killed a man in the Souk al-Maash district.Reuters reports a roadside bomb attack at an unspecified location in Nineveh Province, killing 2 police officers and injuring 3 officers and 2 civilians.VoI reports additional incidents in Mosul:
"Four civilians were wounded in two separate improvised explosive device (IED) blasts in Mosul, while Iraqi police defused two others in the eastern part of the city," Brig. Khaled Abdul-Sattar, the official spokesman for the Ninewa operations command, told Aswat al-Iraq.In other statements, Abdul-Sattar said that two civilians were wounded when unidentified gunmen attacked a checkpoint in southeastern Mosul.
An official source in the Iraqi army said that two civilians were killed and another wounded in two separate attacks in Mosul. (Not clear whether either or both of these correspond to the attacks reported separately.)
Another security source in Mosul said that four policemen were killed and three others injured when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive vehicle near an Iraqi police patrol in the eastern part of the city.
CNN: FEMALE SUICIDE BOMBER KILLS 3 AT IRAQI CHECKPOINT
Official says suicide bomber detonated her taxi near stadium
Iraqi soldier, traffic officer among those killed, official says
Official: Roadside bomb in western Baghdad kills police officer
U.S. military says it killed seven "special group extremists" in Sadr City
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/04/27/iraq.main/index.html
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A female suicide car bomber attacked an Iraqi security forces' checkpoint in eastern Baghdad on Sunday, killing three people, military officials said.
The bombing came as fighting in the capital's Sadr City neighborhood killed at least seven Shiite militants.
The suicide bomber detonated her taxi near Shaab stadium in a mostly Shiite area of eastern Baghdad, an Interior Ministry official said.
An Iraqi soldier and a traffic police officer were among the fatalities. Fourteen others were wounded in the blast, the official said.
In western Baghdad, a roadside bomb exploded Sunday morning, killing one Iraqi soldier and wounding six people, including soldiers and bystanders, the official said.
The soldiers were on foot patrol in the predominantly Sunni neighborhood of Mansour at the time of the blast.
In other incidents, eight people were killed and 44 others were wounded Saturday night and Sunday morning in Sadr City, the Interior Ministry official said.
Meanwhile, the U.S. military said it killed seven "special group extremists" in Sadr City during that time.
All but one of the alleged extremists were targeted by airstrikes.
EXCLUSIVE REPORT ON CONDITIONS OF WOUNDED FROM IRAQ
The following is a report on three GIs wounded in Iraq and how they are progressing with their rehabilitation. You can learn more about each GI by clicking on their name.
Pfc. Matthew Bradford, 19, son of Debbie Bradford of Mosinee, was injured Jan. 18, 2007 while serving with the U.S. Marines in Haditha, Iraq. He lost both legs and his left eye and suffered intestinal damage, a ruptured bladder and broken bones.
Spec. Casimir Werda was a gunner on a Humvee in Iraq when an explosion ripped the sight from his eyes. After nearly a year of healing and rehabilitation -- in which he learned how to do routine tasks without sight. "It was a tragedy," Werda, 24, said of the March 14, 2007, attack.
Tim Butler a 20-year-old Watertown man is preparing to return to military service next week after a stay at home to recover from wounds he suffered in a March 7 roadside bomb blast in Iraq. It was the 10th time Pfc. Tim Butler was hit by a roadside bomb. “This last hit messed me up pretty good,” Butler said. “Any time I took a hit, I went to the doctors and said I was all right, so I could keep going out, because I really liked my job. The 10th blast I took sent me over the edge with my concussions though. It just got worse and worse, and that last one was it. I've got a traumatic brain injury.”
Saturday, April 26, 2008
MORE US CONFIRMED DEATHS: NAMES AND HOMETOWNS
U.S. Confirmed Deaths Reported
(Click on part in "BLUE" to get further details)
Deaths: 4052 Confirmed Deaths:
4052 Pending Confirmation: 0 DoD Confirmation List
Latest Coalition Fatalities
04/25/08 DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Sgt. Guadalupe Cervantes Ramirez, 26, of Fort Irwin, Calif., died April 23 at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, of injuries suffered in a vehicle incident. He was assigned to the 2nd Transportation Company (Heavy Equipment Transport...
04/25/08 DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Staff Sgt. Shaun J. Whitehead, 24, of Commerce, Ga., died April 24 in Iskandariyah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when he encountered an improvised explosive device while on a dismounted patrol. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment...
04/25/08 DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Staff Sgt. Ronald C. Blystone, 34, of Springfield, Mo., died April 23 in Baghdad, Iraq, from wounds suffered when he encountered small arms fire during a dismounted patrol. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment...
04/25/08 DoD Identifies Army Casualties (2 of 2)
1st Lt. Timothy W. Cunningham, 26, of College Station, Texas...died April 23 in Golden Hills, Iraq, of injuries suffered in a vehicle incident. They were assigned to the 1st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team...
04/25/08 DoD Identifies Army Casualties (1 of 2)
Pfc. John T. Bishop, 22, of Gaylord, Mich...died April 23 in Golden Hills, Iraq, of injuries suffered in a vehicle incident. They were assigned to the 1st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division...
04/25/08 DoD Identifies Marine Casualties (2 0f 2)
Lance Cpl. Jordan C. Haerter, 19, of Sag Harbor, N.Y...assigned to the 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune...died 4/22 from wounds suffered while conducting combat operations...
04/25/08 DoD Identifies Marine Casualties (1 0f 2)
Cpl. Jonathan T. Yale, 21, of Burkeville, Va...assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune...died 4/22 from wounds suffered while conducting combat operations...
04/25/08 MNF: MND-C Soldier attacked by IED
A Multi-National Division - Center Soldier was killed in an improvised explosive device attack south of Baghdad, April 24.
BLACKWATER ACCUSED OF SHREDDING DOCUMENTS
Families of Iraqis who died in a September shooting involving Blackwater guards have accused the corporation of “shredding documents and destroying evidence” sometime around March 18. The court documents identify former Blackwater employees as the source of the information. AP notes that there is “no indication the Justice Department is investigating shredding as part of that case.”
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/26/blackwater-accused-of-shredding-documents/
CNN REPORT: US DENIES BOMBING ATTACKS KILLED IRAQI CHILDREN
A series of US air attacks on Sadr City has killed eight Iraqi civlians, including two children. The US military is denying the air attacks were aimed at Iraqi civilians in Sadr City, however the Iraqi Interior Ministry says the attacks resulted in the deaths of eight cvilians and the wounding of 28.
All across Iraq on Saturday there were signs the violence is escalating as car bombs and killings hit virtually evey province in Iraq.
President Bush, General Petraeus and the Bush administration propaganda branch, FOX NEWS, continue to claim all is calm in Iraq, but stories from a number of independent news sources prove just the opposite is the truth.
NEW: Car bomb kills two awakening council members in western Baghdad
U.S. spokesman denies airstrikes, major action in Baghdad slum overnight
Sadr City fighting kills eight, including two children, official says; 28 wounded
Saturday morning attacks in Baghdad, Tikrit, Diyala province
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Violence overnight in Baghdad's Sadr City killed eight people -- including two children -- and wounded 28, Iraqi officials said, and insurgent attacks across Iraq killed six people and wounded 26.
U.S. military denies involvement in Sadr City deaths
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/04/26/iraq.main/index.html
A U.S. military spokesman denied an Interior Ministry official's report that airstrikes and clashes involving U.S. forces caused the casualties in Sadr City.
"There were no 'fierce' clashes between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. involving U.S. forces or those Iraqi security forces we are partnered with," said Lt. Col. Steve Stover, a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad. "So we do not know who killed those women and children."
U.S. and Iraqi forces have been battling Shiite militiamen in Sadr City for a month.
Saturday morning saw a wave of violence across multiple locations in Iraq.
Three Iraqi soldiers were hurt when a roadside bomb exploded near their patrol in northeastern Baghdad's Sleikh neighborhood, an Interior Ministry official said.
Gunmen in a car opened fire 30 minutes later on traffic police in central Baghdad's al-Wathiq square, wounding five people, the official said.
Police said a roadside bomb blast wounded eight people, including four police officers in central Tikrit, a major Sunni city in Salaheddin province about 100 miles north of Baghdad.
In Diyala province north of Baghdad, three Iraqi soldiers died when a roadside bomb struck their patrol about about three miles east of Baquba, the Interior Ministry official said.
A roadside bomb explosion near a house in central Baquba's al-Hay neighborhood wounded two Iraqi civilians, the official said.
Click on link to read full story.
USA TODAY: NEW REPORT SAYS IRAQ SECURITY FORCES NOT READY
Report: Iraqi forces lacking
By Matt Kelley, USA TODAY
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2008-04-25-iraqsecurity_N.htm
WASHINGTON — Iraq's military and police forces need years of improvements before they have enough recruits, officers and support systems to secure the country, the government's Iraq reconstruction watchdog says in a report to be released today.
The report from Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction Stuart Bowen analyzed the Iraqi security forces as part of a review of the Pentagon's quarterly Iraq progress reports to Congress. Relying on Iraqi government figures, the latest such update in March says about 530,000 people are on the Iraqi security forces' payroll.
However, a "substantial number" of people on the payrolls of the Iraqi police and military have been killed or wounded, are on leave or never showed up for work, the inspector general's report says.
"The details included in the reports and other available information suggests a continuing need for caution in relying on the accuracy and usefulness of the numbers," the report says.
But the Pentagon says the data on Iraqi forces is reliable.
WASHINGTON POST: TOP MILITARY OFFICER SAYS US PLANNING FOR ATTACK ON IRAN
U.S. Weighing Readiness for Military Action Against Iran
By Ann Scott TysonWashington Post Staff WriterSaturday, April 26, 2008; A07
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/25/AR2008042501480.html?hpid=topnews
The nation's top military officer said yesterday that the Pentagon is planning for "potential military courses of action" as one of several options against Iran, criticizing what he called the Tehran government's "increasingly lethal and malign influence" in Iraq.
Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said a conflict with Iran would be "extremely stressing" but not impossible for U.S. forces, pointing to reserve capabilities in the Navy and Air Force.
"It would be a mistake to think that we are out of combat capability," he said at a Pentagon news conference. Speaking of Iran's intentions, Mullen said: "They prefer to see a weak Iraq neighbor. . . . They have expressed long-term goals to be the regional power."
Mullen made clear that he prefers a diplomatic solution and does not expect imminent action. "I have no expectations that we're going to get into a conflict with Iran in the immediate future," he said.
Mullen's statements and others by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates recently signal new rhetorical pressure on Iran by the Bush administration amid what officials say is increased Iranian provision of weapons, training and financing to Iraqi groups that are attacking and killing Americans.
In a speech Monday, Gates said Iran "is hell-bent on acquiring nuclear weapons." He said war would be "disastrous" but added that "the military option must be kept on the table, given the destabilizing policies of the regime and the risks inherent in a future Iranian nuclear threat."
Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, who was nominated this week to head all U.S. forces in the Middle East, is preparing a briefing soon on increased Iranian involvement in Iraq, Mullen said. The briefing will detail, for example, the discovery in Iraq of weapons that were very recently manufactured in Iran, he said.
LIST OF NAMES OF GIS KILLED IN IRAQ IN APRIL AND CAUSE OF DEATH
Place of Death - Province
Cause of Death
Click on deceased name in "blue" for additional details.
US
Staff Sergeant Shaun J. Whitehead
Iskandariyah - Babil
Hostile - hostile fire - IED, small arms fire
23-Apr-2008
4
US: 4 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
Sergeant Guadalupe Cervantes Ramirez
Camp Arifjan
Non-hostile - vehicle accident
US
Private 1st Class John T. Bishop
Golden Hills - Salah Ad Din
Non-hostile - vehicle rollover
US
1st Lieutenant Timothy W. Cunningham
Golden Hills - Salah Ad Din
Non-hostile - vehicle rollover
US
Staff Sergeant Ronald C. Blystone
Baghdad (eastern part)
Hostile - hostile fire - small arms fire
22-Apr-2008
3
US: 3 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
Private Ronald R. Harrison
FOB Falcon (nr. Baghdad)
Non-hostile - injury
US
Lance Corporal Jordan C. Haerter
Ramadi (near) - Al Anbar Province
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack (VBIED)
US
Corporal Jonathan T. Yale
Ramadi (near) - Al Anbar Province
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack (VBIED)
21-Apr-2008
4
US: 4 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
Airman Apprentice Adrian M. Campos
Dubai -
Non-hostile
US
1st Lieutenant Matthew R. Vandergrift
Basra - Basrah
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US
Specialist Steven J. Christofferson
Baiji - Salah Ad Din
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US
Sergeant Adam J. Kohlhaas
Baiji - Salah Ad Din
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
20-Apr-2008
1
US: 1 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
Petty Officer 1st Class Cherie L. Morton
Galali, Muharraq
Non-hostile
18-Apr-2008
2
US: 2 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
Specialist Benjamin K. Brosh
Balad - Salah Ad Din
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack (VBIED)
US
Specialist Lance O. Eakes
Baghdad (north of)
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
17-Apr-2008
1
US: 1 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
Staff Sergeant Jason L. Brown
Sama Village
Hostile - hostile fire - small arms fire, grenade
14-Apr-2008
4
US: 4 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
Specialist Arturo Huerta-Cruz
Tuz - Salah Ad Din
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US
Sergeant Joseph A. Richard III
Baghdad (northeastern part)
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US
Corporal Richard J. Nelson
Al Anbar Province
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US
Lance Corporal Dean D. Opicka
Al Anbar Province
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
12-Apr-2008
1
US: 1 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
Specialist William E. Allmon
Baghdad
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
09-Apr-2008
5
US: 5 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
Technical Sergeant Anthony L. Capra
Baghdad
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US
Specialist Jeremiah C. Hughes
Baghdad
Non-hostile - injury
US
Sergeant Jesse A. Ault
Tunis (died in Baghdad) - Salah Ad Din
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US
Sergeant Shaun P. Tousha
Baghdad
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US
Specialist Jacob J. Fairbanks
Baghdad
Non-hostile - suicide
08-Apr-2008
2
US: 2 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
Staff Sergeant Jeffery L. Hartley
Kharguliah - Baghdad
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US
Major Mark E. Rosenberg
Baghdad
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
07-Apr-2008
4
US: 4 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
Sergeant Timothy M. Smith
Baghdad
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US
Sergeant Michael T. Lilly
Baghdad
Hostile - hostile fire - RPG attack
US
Specialist Jason C. Kazarick
Baghdad
Hostile - hostile fire - RPG attack
US
Sergeant Richard A. Vaughn
Baghdad (eastern part)
Hostile - hostile fire - small arms fire
06-Apr-2008
7
US: 7 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
Staff Sergeant Jeremiah E. McNeal
Baghdad
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US
Staff Sergeant Emanuel Pickett
Baghdad
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US
Private 1st Class Shane D. Penley
Rustamiyah - Baghdad
Non-hostile
US
Colonel Stephen K. Scott
Baghdad (Green Zone)
Hostile - hostile fire - rocket attack
US
Major Stuart A. Wolfer
Baghdad (Green Zone)
Hostile - hostile fire - rocket attack
US
Captain Ulises Burgos-Cruz
Diyala Province (Died in Balad)
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
US
Specialist Matthew T. Morris
Diyala Province (Died in Balad)
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
03-Apr-2008
1
US: 1 UK: 0 Other: 0
US
Staff Sergeant Travis L. Griffin
Baghdad (near)
Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack
Total
40
US: 40 UK: 0 Other: 0
NAMES OF 2 US MARINES FROM CAMP LEJEUNE KILLED IN COMBAT IN IRAQ
2 Camp Lejeune Marines killed in Iraq
The Associated Press - The Associated PressPosted : Friday Apr 25, 2008 17:11:51 EDT
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/04/ap_marines_killed_052508/
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — The military says two Marines from Camp Lejeune have died of wounds they suffered during combat in Iraq’s Anbar province.
The Department of Defense said Friday that 19-year-old Lance Cpl. Jordan C. Haerter of Sag Harbor, N.Y., and 21-year-old Cpl. Jonathan T. Yale of Burkeville, Va., died Tuesday.
Haerter was a member of the 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment of the 2nd Marine Division. Yale was a member of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment of the 2nd Marine Division. The division is an element of the II Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune.
PENTAGON PROPAGANDA: SO MUCH WORSE THAN WE THOUGHT
David Barstow of the New York Times has written the first installment in what is already a stunning exposé of the Bush Administration's most powerful propaganda weapon used to sell and manage the war on Iraq: the embedding of military propagandists directly into the TV networks as on-air commentators.
We and others have long criticized the
widespread TV network practice of hiring former military officials to serve as analysts, but even in our most cynical moments we did not anticipate how bad it was. Barstow has painstakingly documented how these analysts, most of them military industry consultants and lobbyists, were directly chosen, managed, coordinated and given their talking points by the Pentagon's ministers of propaganda.
By John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton, PR Watch Posted on April 25, 2008, Printed on April 26, 2008
http://www.alternet.org/story/83541/
Thanks to the two-year investigation by the New York Times, we today know that Victoria Clarke, then the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, launched the Pentagon military analyst program in early 2002. These supposedly independent military analysts were in fact a coordinated team of pro-war propagandists, personally recruited by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and acting under Clarke's tutelage and development.
One former participant, NBC military analyst Kenneth Allard, has called the effort "psyops on steroids." As Barstow reports, "Internal Pentagon documents repeatedly refer to the military analysts as 'message force multipliers' or 'surrogates' who could be counted on to deliver administration 'themes and messages' to millions of Americans 'in the form of their own opinions.' … Don Meyer, an aide to Ms. Clarke, said a strategic decision was made in 2002 to make the analysts the main focus of the public relations push to construct a case for war."
Clarke and her senior aide, Brent T. Krueger, eventually signed up more than 75 retired military officers who penned newspaper op/ed columns and appeared on television and radio news shows as military analysts. The Pentagon held weekly meetings with the military analysts, which continued as of April 20, 2008, when the New York Times ran Barstow's story. The program proved so successful that it was expanded to issues besides the Iraq War. "Other branches of the
administration also began to make use of the analysts. Mr. Gonzales, then the attorney general, met with them soon after news leaked that the government was wiretapping terrorism suspects in the United States without warrants, Pentagon records show.
When David H. Petraeus was appointed the commanding general in Iraq in January 2007, one of his early acts was to meet with the analysts."
BAGHDAD TO GET DISNEYLAND AMUSEMENT PARK
At the cost of nearly $500 million, a Los Angeles-based company is “developing the Baghdad Zoo and Entertainment Experience, a massive American-style amusement park that will feature a skateboard park, rides, a concert theatre and a museum.” The park “is being designed by the firm that developed Disneyland.” The company’s owner says “the time is ripe” for profit and entertainment to collide in Iraq:
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/24/baghdad-to-get-disneyland-style-amusement-park/
Mr Werner, who has been sold a 50-year lease on the site by the Mayor of Baghdad for an undisclosed sum, says that the time is ripe for the amusement park. “I think people will embrace it. They’ll see it as an opportunity for their children regardless if they’re Shia or Sunni. They’ll say their kids deserve a place to play and they’ll leave it alone.”
“I wouldn’t be doing this if I wasn’t making money” he said. “I also have this wonderful sense that we’re doing the right thing – we’re going to employ thousands of Iraqis. But mostly everything here is for profit.”
A Pentagon official has said that Gen. David Petraeus is a “big supporter” of the project.
Friday, April 25, 2008
REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN CALLS US SOLDIER IN IRAQ 'TWO-BIT SECURITY GUARD.'
During a public appearance on Saturday, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) belittled a U.S. soldier in Iraq who was following orders and wouldn’t let McHenry go to the gym without the proper credentials. McHenry referred to the guard as a “two-bit security guard“
We spent the night in the Green Zone, in the poolhouse of one of Saddam’s palaces. A little weird, I got to be honest with you. But I felt safe. And so in the morning, I got up early — not that I make this a great habit — but I went to the gym because I just couldn’t sleep and everything else. Well, sure enough, the guard wouldn’t let me in. Said I didn’t have the correct credentials.
It’s 5:00 in the morning. I haven’t had sleep. I was not very happy with this two-bit security guard. So you know, I said, “I want to see your supervisor.” Thirty minutes later, the supervisor wasn’t happy with me, they escort me back to my room. It happens. I guess I didn’t need to work out anyway.
Watch it: Click here to watch video of Rep. McHenry: http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/04/rep-mchenry-calls-us-soldier-in-iraq-a-two-bit-security-guard/
McHenry also claimed that a person died from rocket attacks during his stay in the Green Zone. A U.S. embassy official, however, said “that there were no fatalities from that rocket attack.”
CNN REPORTS: ONE GI KILLED: AL-SADR THREATENS 'OPEN WAR' ON OCCUPIERS, NOT IRAQ
The U.S. military said a U.S. soldier was killed by a roadside bomb south of Baghdad Thursday. The death brings to 4,051 the number of U.S. military personnel killed in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003.
Story Highlights
NEW: Gunmen kill journalist working for Shiite radio station in Basra, police say
Iraqis, even security forces, should unite against "occupiers," cleric says
Despite threat of war, Muqtada al-Sadr maintains cease-fire, politician says
U.S. planes strike Sadr City neighborhood of Baghdad, Iraqi official says
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr threatened "open war," against the American "occupiers" and not the Iraqi government, according to a letter read by a top aide during Friday prayers.
"When we threatened to declare an open war until the liberation, we meant war against the occupier," al-Sadr said in his letter. "There is no war between us and our Iraqi brothers -- no matter what their nationality, race or sect. The blood of Iraqis are forbidden on you."
He encouraged not only his Mehdi Army militia to fight U.S. troops, but also every Iraqi, including the nation's security forces which are in league with U.S. troops.
"I direct my speech to all government security forces and others, and all the religious and political forces, if this open war is between us and the occupier, you should not interfere in the favor of the occupier," the letter said. "We want to liberate you and your lands from the occupiers, so our government would be a full sovereign government."
On Saturday, al-Sadr issued what he called a "last warning" and told his followers in Sadr City to fight the "occupier" there.
Click on link for full story.
WHAT ABOUT THE VIOLENCE FIGURES FOR MARCH, SENATORS?
Ignoring Uptick In Iraq Violence, Lieberman And Graham Accuse War Critics Of ‘A Crisis Of Credibility’
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/07/graham-lieberman-iraq-credibility/
Writing in the Wall Street Journal today, Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) accuse critics of the Iraq war of facing “a crisis of credibility” because they “confidently predicted the failure of the surge.” But in their effort to argue that anti-war critics have “been proven decidedly wrong,” Lieberman and Graham undermine their own credibility on the issue by ignoring recent developments in the war-torn country.
As proof of the surge’s success, the two hawkish senators cite statistics that they say show “dramatic improvements in security”:
No one can deny the dramatic improvements in security in Iraq achieved by Gen. Petraeus, the brave troops under his command, and the Iraqi Security Forces. From June 2007 through February 2008, deaths from ethno-sectarian violence in Baghdad have fallen approximately 90%. American casualties have also fallen sharply, down by 70%.
The fact that Lieberman and Graham only cite statistics through February — even though numbers for March 2008 are available — undercuts their argument. Perhaps they ignored March because there was “a 25 or 30 percent increase in the number of civilian casualties” from February to March:
Overall, Iraqi deaths rose from a low of 568 in December and 541 in January to roughly 721 in February to more than 1,082 in March, according to statistics compiled by Iraq’s ministries of health, interior, and defense and confirmed by Smith. The vast majority were civilians.
“There was somewhere on the order of a 25 or 30 percent increase in the number of civilian casualties when you consider March compared to February,” Smith said, although “the numbers are still nowhere near what they had been last summer.”
Lieberman and Graham also claim that “the critics in Washington have been proven wrong” about political progress in Iraq, citing the passage of “de-Baathification, amnesty, the budget and provincial elections” legislation by the Iraqi government. But this too is not an honest assessment of what has occurred in Iraq. In a report to be released today, the experts who advised the original Iraq Study Group call political progress “superficial“:
A new assessment of U.S. policy in Iraq by the same experts who advised the original Iraq Study Group concludes that political progress is “so slow, halting and superficial” and political fragmentation “so pronounced” that the United States is no closer to being able to leave Iraq than it was a year ago.
Before accusing their political opponents of “a crisis of credibility,” Lieberman and Graham should make sure their arguments don’t undermine their own credibility.
UpdateThe AP reports today that "internal strife" in Iraq has been "underscored by a rise in ethno-sectarian violence between Iraqis in March, the first such monthly increase since last July."
HUFFINGTON POST: TV'S RESPONSE TO PENTAGON PROPAGANDA? NEVER HAPPENED
TV's Response to Pentagon Propaganda? Never Happened
Posted April 24, 2008 11:31 AM (EST)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/josh-silver/video-tvs-response-to-pen_b_98417.html
Click on link to see video.
Last week, it was a mudslinging debate hosted by ABC. This week, it's revelations of pro-war propaganda on nearly every major television news outlet.
The quest for quality journalism and for the truth about the fast sell on the Iraq war just hit a new low. And today, in the ensuing days, our loyal Bush lapdog news outlets are either dismissing the damning revelation or pretending it never happened.
Sunday's New York Times' article exposing a secret Bush administration campaign to infiltrate the media with pro-Iraq war "analysts" is enraging and is likely illegal. Trillions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of casualties later, we learn that the drum beat to war was led by a choir lip-synching the Pentagon's talking points.
And no one - not the network officials, not the military analysts, and certainly not the White House - can walk away from this scheme with clean hands. Of course, propaganda has always played a role in the government's wartime strategy. But the extent to which the American people were duped into trusting military officials in the build-up and ongoing pursuit of the Iraq war -- aided and abetted by the largest news outlets -- is as devious as it gets.
We need more than an empty reprimand of these propaganda pundits. Congress must investigate the Pentagon's "hidden hand" in driving war coverage, and the defense contractors, military analysts and national news media who went along for the ride.
The Department of Justice must launch an investigation to determine if the Pentagon broke the laws prohibiting government sponsored covert propaganda. But don't hold your breath. As Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) said in a Capitol Hill hearing this week, Bush-appointed DoJ officials are so MIA on government accountability, they should all be "on the side of milk containers".
This is not a partisan issue. Democrats, Republicans and everyone else are the victims. Public interest groups have launched an effort to pressure our lawmakers to act; to send a resounding message that the American people will no longer tolerate government lies, half-truths, and manipulations in the media.
Many of the network officials interviewed by the Times "acknowledged only a limited understanding of their analysts' interactions with the administration" and said analysts were not expected to disclose their financial conflicts before being broadcast as an expert.
Shame on the media for their irresponsible and shoddy reporting, for their unwillingness to vet sources, and for being compliant lapdogs when we needed snarling watchdogs.
Welcome to a familiar refrain. America's media system is dominated by a handful of giant corporations obsessed with making money, and terrified of upsetting the apple cart. Problem is, critical, accountable journalism questions authority, stirs the pot, and almost always spills more than a few apples. It even scares away a coveted advertisers and pisses off politicians who would otherwise hand over policy favors, earmarks and tax breaks worth millions.
Every time you see the media fail to inform and enlighten - a failure you can witness every time you turn on your TV or radio - don't get mad, join the ranks of Americans who are realizing that the fight for media reform is perhaps the most important political fight of our time. A fight who's outcome will determine whether our nation will continue its Orwellian slide into propaganda and falsehood, or become the enlightened democracy we so desperately want to live in.
Correction: The video refers to CNN's Rick Sanchez as a morning host. His show appears evenings.
YOU TUBE VIDEO: EXPOSING THE PENTAGON PUNDITS SCANDAL
http://freepress.net/node/38880
Most of the TV military analysts have ties to the defense industry and this video explores exactly who the military are that appear on cable news and how they have raked in a lot money "selling the war" to the American public.
AMERICANS SHOULD BE OUTRAGED. BUSH ADMIN AND PENTAGON USE "MILITARY ANLYSTS" TO SELL AMERICANS A BILL OF GOODS ON THE IRAQ WAR
The citizens of America should be outraged over the fact the Bush Administration and the Pentagon along with the three cable news networks have been lying to them for over five years with phony "military analysts" appearing all over TV when the New York Times has now revealed ALL of the "TV military analysts" are on the payroll of defense contractors or work as lobbyists for the defense industry.
The cable news stations are unfazed by the revelation the TV military analysts are "hired guns" working for defense contractors as witnessed how FOX NEWS' Brit Hume earlier this week feature TWICE former General Robert Scales on his "Special Report" show when it has been revealed by the NY Times that Scales has ties to the defense industry through an organization called Colgen, Inc.
Scales' online Fox News bio states that "General Scales is the president of Colgen, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in issues relating to land power, war gaming and strategic leadership." According to its website, Colgen "[a]ssists the landpower Services in creating future warfighting doctrine and operational concepts" and "[t]ranslates these concepts into useful strategies and actions for industry, the media, and the congressional and executive branches of government." Colgen also "provides products targeted to these marketing elements including: media commentary, congressional testimony, advice to the executive branch, published works, seminars and conferences."
Colgen's "growing list of satisfied clients" includes defense contractors such as General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin, as well as multiple elements of the Department of Defense, such as the U.S. Army, Navy, and Marine Corps.
Pentagon Propaganda: So Much Worse Than We Thought
By John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton, PR WatchPosted on April 25, 2008, Printed on April 25, 2008
http://www.alternet.org/story/83541/
David Barstow of the New York Times has written the first installment in what is already a stunning exposé of the Bush Administration's most powerful propaganda weapon used to sell and manage the war on Iraq: the embedding of military propagandists directly into the TV networks as on-air commentators.
We and others have long criticized the
widespread TV network practice of hiring former military officials to serve as analysts, but even in our most cynical moments we did not anticipate how bad it was. Barstow has painstakingly documented how these analysts, most of them military industry consultants and lobbyists, were directly chosen, managed, coordinated and given their talking points by the Pentagon's ministers of propaganda.
Thanks to the two-year investigation by the New York Times, we today know that Victoria Clarke, then the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, launched the Pentagon military analyst program in early 2002. These supposedly independent military analysts were in fact a coordinated team of pro-war propagandists, personally recruited by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and acting under Clarke's tutelage and development.
One former participant, NBC military analyst Kenneth Allard, has called the effort "psyops on steroids." As Barstow reports, "Internal Pentagon documents repeatedly refer to the military analysts as 'message force multipliers' or 'surrogates' who could be counted on to deliver administration 'themes and messages' to millions of Americans 'in the form of their own opinions.' … Don Meyer, an aide to Ms. Clarke, said a strategic decision was made in 2002 to make the analysts the main focus of the public relations push to construct a case for war."
Clarke and her senior aide, Brent T. Krueger, eventually signed up more than 75 retired military officers who penned newspaper op/ed columns and appeared on television and radio news shows as military analysts. The Pentagon held weekly meetings with the military analysts, which continued as of April 20, 2008, when the New York Times ran Barstow's story.
The program proved so successful that it was expanded to issues besides the Iraq War. "Other branches of the
administration also began to make use of the analysts. Mr. Gonzales, then the attorney general, met with them soon after news leaked that the government was wiretapping terrorism suspects in the United States without warrants, Pentagon records show.
When David H. Petraeus was appointed the commanding general in Iraq in January 2007, one of his early acts was to meet with the analysts."
Barstow spent two years digging, using the Freedom of Information Act and attorneys to force the Bush Administration to release some 8,000 pages of documents now under lock and key at the New York Times. This treasure trove should result in additional stories, giving them a sort of "Pentagon Papers" of Iraq war propaganda.
Click on link above to finish reading this story.
NEW VIDEO: REAL NEWS REPORTS VIOLENCE IN IRAQ DISRUPTS EVERYDAY LIFE
Baghdad violence disrupting everyday life
Clashes between Iraqi, US forces and militiamen kill 13 as UK freezes troop withdrawals
Friday April 25th, 2008
View The Real News Network video here:
http://therealnews.com/web/index.php?thisdataswitch=0&thisid=1404&thisview=item&renewx=2008-04-25+11%3A59%3A33
The headmistress of a girls' school in Sadr City was forced to send her students home because of an upturn in violence in the Baghdad neighborhood on Thursday. As fighting rages on in the Iraqi capital, Britain announced it would halt the withdrawal of its 4,500 troops from the Basra area because of clashes with Shiite militias.
Transcript:VOICE OF ZAA NKWETA, PRESENTER: At least 13 people were killed in Baghdad on Thursday in ongoing fighting between Shiite militiamen and Iraqi- and US-led forces. The threatening upturn in violence prompted the headmistress of a local school in Sadr City to send her female students home.
BATOOL RASHEED, SCHOOLGIRL (SUBTITLED TRANSLATION): We cannot complete our studies. We hope that the prime minister listens to our voices, and works towards a solution. Services are so bad. We wake up and sleep to bangs and explosions that makes us absent minded and unable to focus on our studies.NKWETA: Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, held closed-door meetings with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Baghdad. Britain announced on Thursday it would put a freeze on troop withdrawals from Iraq, due to an upsurge in fighting with Shiite militias. Around 4,500 British troops are based in Iraq, most of them at an airport camp near the southern city of Basra. Britain suspended plans to withdraw about 1,500 troops this spring after fighting broke out last month between Iraqi forces and Shiite militiamen. Britain's Defense Secretary, Des Browne, on Thursday acknowledged Iraqi soldiers being trained by British troops are months away from being ready to deploy.
DISCLAIMER:Please note that TRNN transcripts are typed from a recording of the program; The Real News Network cannot guarantee their complete accuracy.
DEATH AND MAYHEM GOES ON IN IRAQ: 14 KILLED AND 75 WOUNDED IN PAST 24 HOURS
Baghdad, Apr 25, (VOI) – 14 people were killed, 75 others were wounded, while security forces arrested five persons in violent acts that took place throughout Iraq during the last 24 hours, security source said on Friday.
http://www.aswataliraq.info/look/english/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrArticle=77403&NrIssue=2&NrSection=1
In Baghdad, a medical source from Sadr city, eastern Baghdad, said that "the Imam Ali hospital in Sadr City received during the past few hours nine corpses and 39 wounded people while the al-Shahid al-Sadr hospital received two killed and 35 others wounded."
"The number of deaths is most likely to rise due to the serious condition of some of the wounded," he said, adding the two main hospitals in Sadr City and other nearby hospitals are acting in a limited pace due to the continued bombardment.Sadr City, a stronghold of Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militias, has been witnessing armed clashes since Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced last month the commencement of a security operation codenamed Saulat al-Forsan (Knights' Assault) in the port city of Basra, Iraq's second largest province and an oil-hub, 590 km south of Baghdad, which he said targeted "outlaws".
US IS PAYING FOR THOUSANDS OF DEAD IRAQIS STILL ON IRAQI ARMY PAYROLL
The situation in Iraq just got even worse---if that could be humanely possible. It is now being reported by AP that the US is paying Iraq for Iraqis who have been killed but supposedly are working in the Iraqi security forces.
WASHINGTON - Iraq's government has kept thousands of dead, injured or absent policemen and soldiers on the payroll as a way to compensate or care for their families, an audit found.
The practice is just one example of why there are no reliable numbers on how many Iraqi forces are on the job at any given time, says the report being made public Friday by Stuart Bowen, the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction.
Dead kept on Iraqi military payroll U.S. audit also finds discrepancies in how troops are counted The Associated Press
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24302718/
"There are continuing uncertainties about the true number ... who are present for duty at any one time,'' Bowen said of Iraqi policemen, soldiers, border guards and other forces.
Bowen said another part of the problem is that Iraqi ministries lack automated accounting systems needed to keep good data.
"I would not call it a damning report. I would say it's reflective of the difficulty of assessing troop strength ... and, more importantly, capabilities,'' Bowen said in an interview Thursday.
Bowen had been asked to assess last month's Defense Department report on Iraq, one in a series of quarterly documents required by Congress to measure progress toward military and political security there.
The $20 billion U.S. program to train Iraqis to provide their own security is key to when U.S. troops levels can be reduced in Iraq. And the problem of assessing the Iraqi forces is not new.
Iraqi forces short on officers Bowen noted that efforts have been made to improve the quarterly report's data on the number of Iraqis forces that have been authorized, trained, are being paid and are on duty.
MORE US DEATHS IN IRAQ: 3 US SOLDIERS, 42 IRAQIS KILLED; 38 IRAQIS WOUNDED
The war in Iraq rages on with more US deaths. On Thursday 3 US soldiers were killed along with 42 Iraqis. Another 38 Iraqis were wouded.
At least 42 Iraqis were killed and 38 more were wounded in the latest attacks. Three American soldiers were killed as well, but in separate accidents. Also, Britain is canceling its drawdown of troops for the time being.
http://www.antiwar.com/updates/?articleid=12737
Two American soldiers were killed and one was wounded during a vehicular accident in Salah ad Din. One Iraqi interpreter was also wounded. Another American soldier was killed in a separate accident in Kuwait. Meanwhile, the MNF denied capturing former Vice President Izzat al-Douri.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has announced that all political factions will soon be returning to the government. The groups, both Shi'ite and Sunni, walked out last year. One of the groups is connected to Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, but reconciliation is unlikely unless al-Maliki hold up his end of a cease-fire between Iraqi forces and al-Sadr's Mahdi army. Instead, al-Maliki says he will continue with his crackdown. Meanwhile, Shi'ite lawmakers are warning that al-Sadr is considering disconnecting the Mahdi army from it's political wing and declaring an end to the cease-fire.
In Baghdad, three dumped bodies were found. Three people were killed and 15 were wounded during a market bombing in Mansour; three Iraqi soldiers were injured in a separate bombing. Iraqi and U.S. forces killed nine suspects in Husseiniyah. As many as seven others were killed in air strikes across the city. Three people were injured in a bomb blast in west Baghdad.
Two more were injured during a bombing in Shabb. Sixteen Katyusha rockets were confiscated. Mortars struck the Polish Embassy, injuring a security guard. A car bomb at the entrance to the Green Zone killed one person and wounded three others. An IED was found in Zayouna and disposed of. A bomb at the Ghadeer Bridge killed one and wounded six others.
Mortars in Karrada left no casualties. Two people were injured when mortars fell in Adhamiya. Also, Iraqi and U.S. forces raided a hospital in Rashad, where they arrested staff and patients; four suspects were killed during the operation.
Two policemen and a civilian were killed during a roadside bombing in Kirkuk.
In Mosul, one civilian was killed and three people were wounded when a roadside bomb blasted them. One policeman was shot and killed. Also, eight suspects were captured.
Iraqi forces arrested a Sadrist cleric in Basra.
In Samarra, reconstruction of the Askariya Mosque is uniting both Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims.
Three suspects were detained near Arbil.
In Karbala, three suspects were arrested.
U.S. forces killed six suspects near Lake Thar Thar.
A roadside bomb in Khalis killed an Iraqi security officer and wounded two others.
Three public servants driving an ambulance were arrested in Fallujah.
In Wajihiyah the district commissioner and his driver were injured during and armed attack.
Also, Turkish troops reported firing upon a group of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels attempting to cross into Turkey. The PKK said that intense clashes took place, with losses on the Turkish forces side.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
MUQTADA AL-SADR SHIFTS FROM POLITICS TO FIGHTING US FORCES
The rebel cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr has decided to focus all of his attention on fighting US forces in Iraq rather than seek political reconciliation with the struggling Iraqi government.
Al-Sadr shift: away from politics and favoring fight
By HAMZA HENDAWI and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, Associated Press Writers Thu Apr 24, 9:37 PM ET
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080425/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_sadr_s_path
BAGHDAD - Muqtada al-Sadr is considering setting aside his political ambitions and restarting a full-scale fight against U.S.-led forces — a worrisome shift that may reflect Iranian influence on the young cleric and could open the way for a shadow state protected by his powerful Mahdi Army.
A possible breakaway path — described to The Associated Press by Shiite lawmakers and politicians — would represent the ultimate backlash to the Iraqi government's pressure on al-Sadr to renounce and disband his Shiite militia.
By snubbing the give-and-take of politics, al-Sadr would have a freer hand to carve out a kind of parallel state with its own militia and social services along the lines of Hezbollah in Lebanon, a Shiite group founded with Iran's help in the 1980s.
It also would carry potentially disastrous security implications as the Pentagon trims its troops strength and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki finally shows progress on national reconciliation.
GATES ACCUSES IRAN OF KILLING US SOLDIERS: PRELUDE TO WAR?
The US Defense Secretary blames Iran for the killing of US troops in Iraq as the Bush administration steps up rhetoric against Tehran.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=52941§ionid=351020101
"What the Iranians are doing is killing American servicemen and women inside Iraq,'' Robert Gates told a press conference on Wednesday.
The Defense Secretary denied the reports that senior US military officials including General Raymond T. Odierno, General David Petraeus and Admiral William Fallon are at odds over Iran, saying they have no disagreement about the need to confront Iran "over its conduct in Iraq". "General Odierno and General Petraeus and Admiral Fallon were all in exactly the same position when it came to their views of Iranian interference inside Iraq,'' Gates claimed.
The United States accuses Iran of supporting insurgents inside Iraq. Tehran, however, dismisses the allegations saying Washington has failed to provide any concert evidence to prove its claims.
BRIT HUME AND FOX NEWS' "SPECIAL REPORT" STILL USE MILITARY ANALYST EVEN AFTER NY TIMES EXPOSED HIM AS ON THE PAYROLL OF DEFENSE CONTRACTORS
FOX NEWS' Special Report aired quotes from military analyst Robert Scales -- but has not mentioned he was in Times' exposé on military analysts
http://mediamatters.org/items/200804240006?lid=257634&rid=7275876
Summary: In two separate reports since The New York Times published an exposé on the hidden ties between media military analysts and the Pentagon, Fox News' Special Report aired quotes from Fox News military analyst Robert Scales without mentioning that Scales was named in the Times article and addressing Scales' relationship with the Defense Department and defense contractors.
Since The New York Times published an exposé on the hidden ties between media military analysts and the Pentagon on April 20, Fox News' Special Report has aired quotes from retired Maj. Gen. Robert H. Scales, a Fox News military analyst, in two separate reports without mentioning that Scales was named in the Times article and addressing Scales' relationship with the Defense Department and defense contractors. Indeed, as Media Matters for America has documented, Special Report has yet to mention the Times piece at all. Times investigative reporter David Barstow reported that "the Bush administration has used its control over access and information in an effort to transform" media military analysts, many of whom have clients with an interest in obtaining Pentagon contracts, "into a kind of media Trojan horse -- an instrument intended to shape terrorism coverage from inside the major TV and radio networks."
Barstow wrote that "[s]ome e-mail messages between the Pentagon and the analysts reveal an implicit trade of privileged access for favorable coverage. Robert H. Scales Jr., a retired Army general and analyst for Fox News and National Public Radio whose consulting company advises several military firms on weapons and tactics used in Iraq, wanted the Pentagon to approve high-level briefings for him inside Iraq in 2006. 'Recall the stuff I did after my last visit," he wrote. 'I will do the same this time.' " Barstow also reported that Scales was one of several analysts who "pointed out, accurately, that they did not always agree with the administration or each other." Barstow quoted Scales as saying, "None of us drink the Kool-Aid."
On the two occasions he appeared on Special Report since April 20, Scales addressed recent actions by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. On the April 21 edition, Fox News national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin reported that Gates "chastised members of the Air Force and other services" and urged them to "deploy[] more unmanned aerial systems, such as the Air Force's Predator drones." Griffin aired a video clip of Scales saying, "Frankly, there isn't anywhere near the number of unmanned drones necessary to fulfill this mission to the degree that the ground commanders think that the mission should be done." Griffin then stated, "The Air Force says such criticism is unfair." Likewise, on April 23, during Griffin's report on Gates' announcement that he had chosen Gen. David Petraeus to head U.S. Central Command, and Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, corps commander, to replace Petraeus, Scales is shown saying: "There are plenty of generals who are good at counterinsurgency. The real issue is the desire of the secretary of defense to restore that strategic operational chemistry, if you will, between two generals -- Petraeus, who is the strategist, and Odierno, who is the classic operator -- and those combinations don't come along very often, and they're extremely rare."
Scales' online Fox News bio states that "General Scales is the president of Colgen, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in issues relating to land power, war gaming and strategic leadership."
According to its website, Colgen "[a]ssists the landpower Services in creating future warfighting doctrine and operational concepts" and "[t]ranslates these concepts into useful strategies and actions for industry, the media, and the congressional and executive branches of government." Colgen also "provides products targeted to these marketing elements including: media commentary, congressional testimony, advice to the executive branch, published works, seminars and conferences." Colgen's "growing list of satisfied clients" includes defense contractors such as General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin, as well as multiple elements of the Department of Defense, such as the U.S. Army, Navy, and Marine Corps.
In an April 21 article following up on the Times' story, The Washington Post reported that "Marty Ryan, a Fox News executive producer, said yesterday that the analysts are hired not just for their expertise but also as people 'who have access to and know what the thinking of the Pentagon is. That makes them valuable to us.' " The Post further reported that "[w]ith so many military commentators retained in wartime, 'it's a little unrealistic to think you're going to do a big background check on everybody,' Ryan said. 'Some of the business ties aren't necessarily relevant when you're asking them about a specific helicopter operation.' "
From the April 23 edition of Fox News' Special Report with Brit Hume:
[begin video clip] CLICK ON THIS LINK TO VIEW VIDEO: http://mediamatters.org/items/200804240006?lid=257634&rid=7275876
GRIFFIN: In a hastily arranged news conference, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced he is filling the open position of CENTCOM commander with the Army's most well-known and admired general, the commander of Multi-National Forces in Iraq, David Petraeus.
GATES: I recommended him to the president because I am absolutely confident he is the best man for the job.
GRIFFIN: Petraeus would serve in one of the nation's top military command posts, responsible for 26 countries, including the entire Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and East Africa.
GATES: The kinds of conflicts that we're dealing with not just in Iraq, but in Afghanistan, and some of the challenges that we face elsewhere in the region, and the Central Command area, are very much characterized by asymmetric warfare. And I don't know anybody in the United States military better qualified to lead that effort.
GRIFFIN: General Petraeus will exit Iraq in the late summer or fall, after the last surge troops leave. He will go to CENTCOM in Tampa, Florida. Lieutenant General Raymond Odierno, who just returned from Iraq in February, where he served as corps commander and Petraeus' right hand, will go back.
He is currently on leave with his family at Fort Hood in Texas. Lieutenant General Pete Corelli, now the senior military adviser to Secretary Gates, will remain in the Pentagon, becoming the Army's vice chief, a position Odierno was supposed to take.
SCALES: There are plenty of generals who are good at counterinsurgency. The real issue is the desire of the secretary of defense to restore that strategic operational chemistry, if you will, between two generals -- Petraeus, who is the strategist, and Odierno, who is the classic operator -- and those combinations don't come along very often, and they're extremely rare.
GRIFFIN: The changes must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Gates said today after consulting with Armed Services Committee Chairman Democrat Carl Levin [MI], he did not anticipate any problems, but it may not all be smooth sailing. Democratic Senator Russ Feingold [WI] reacted to the nomination, describing the administration's focus on Iraq as, quote, "myopic" at the expense of the war in Afghanistan. Quote: "General Petraeus must answer the most important question we face, which is not whether we are winning in Iraq, but why we are not defeating Al Qaeda.
[end video clip]
GRIFFIN: In his job as commander of forces in Iraq, General Petraeus was not supposed to look beyond Iraq. Now, he will be charged with balancing troop needs in two wars, Iraq and Afghanistan. At the Pentagon, Jennifer Griffin, Fox News.
From the April 21 edition of Fox News' Special Report with Brit Hume:
[begin video clip]
GRIFFIN: Shock and awe brought the Air Force glory five years ago at the beginning of the Iraq war, but today's Iraqi insurgents weren't shocked or awed, it appears. And now, the U.S. military finds itself adapting its doctrine to a new enemy -- the insurgent -- a likely foe for decades to come.
Today, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, in a speech at Maxwell Air Base, chastised members of the Air Force and other services. Quote: "My concern is that our services are still not moving aggressively in wartime to provide resources needed now on the battlefield. I've been wrestling for months to get more intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance assets into the theatre. Because people were stuck in old ways of doing business, it's been like pulling teeth."
Gates was referring to deploying more unmanned aerial systems, such as the Air Force's Predator drones, the eyes in the sky for the military since 9-11 for tracking Al Qaeda leaders and insurgents. He recalled how, as head of the CIA in 1992, he couldn't convince the Air Force to co-fund a vehicle without a pilot.
Today, there are 5,000 unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance vehicles, a 25-fold increase since 9-11, by Gates' own estimates. "While we've doubled this capability in recent months, it is still not good enough," Gates told the Air officers.
SCALES: Frankly, there isn't anywhere near the number of unmanned drones necessary to fulfill this mission to the degree that the ground commanders think that the mission should be done.
GRIFFIN: The Air Force says such criticism is unfair. Of the 110 Predators it has, 74 are deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, 88 percent of the force. The Pentagon asked the Air Force to field 21 combat air patrol teams, each with about four to five Predators to CENTCOM by 2010. The Air Force is already two years ahead of schedule.
BRIG. GEN. BLAIR HANSEN (Director of Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Capabilities, U.S. Air Force): We're deathly serious about not only pushing what we have today, but being able, six months from now, to continue to grow that while we strengthen the capability to, in fact, be engaged as a partner.
[end video clip]
GRIFFIN: Gates wants the Air Force to train drone teams faster. Right now, there simply aren't enough pilots. Unlike the Army, the Air Force insists on using trained fighter pilots, arguing that even though the pilot sits thousands of miles away, this is not a video game. At the Pentagon, Jennifer Griffin, Fox News.
US TROOPS KILL 800 IN ONE WEEK IN SADR CITY--MANY WOMEN AND CHILDREN
U.S. occupation forces have killed more than 800 people, most of them innocent civilians, in their three-week long military campaign to subdue the Mahdi Army in Sadr City, the leader of Sadr movement in Baghdad said.
By Laith Jawad
http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news\2008-04-24\kurd.htm
Sheikh Salaman al-fariji said the troops have also injured more than 1,800 people and caused large-scale destruction of private property and the city’s rickety infrastructure.
Fariji made the remarks as he accompanied a delegation of 20 members of parliament on a tour of the impoverished city home to more than 2 million people.
U.S. troops have imposed a tight embargo on the city and bombing by war planes and helicopter gun ships in the densely populated Baghdad neighborhood continued even during the MPs’ tour.
Falah Shanshal, an MP, said the group would write to the parliament to lift the siege of Sadr City and reach a peaceful solution to the standoff with Mahdi Army.
Mahdi Army is the military wing of Sadr movement which has 30 deputies in parliament.
“The MPs were shocked by the scale of damage,” said Fariji.
Shanshal said: “The people of Sadr City undergo horrific humanitarian conditions as a result of U.S. military operations and embargo.”
LATEST LIST OF NAMES AND HOMETOWNS OF US CASUALTIES
Here is the most recent list of US casualties including names and hometowns. Click on part in "BLUE" for further details.
Latest Coalition Fatalities
04/24/08 DoD Identifies Marine Casualty
1st Lt. Matthew R. Vandergrift, 28 of Littleton, Colo., died April 21 from wounds he suffered while conducting combat operations in Basrah, Iraq. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary...
04/24/08 MNF: MND-N Soldiers die in non-combat related incident in Salah ad Din
Two Multi-National Division – North Soldiers were killed when their vehicle rolled onto its side during movement to a combat outpost in Salah ad Din Province, April 23. Another Soldier and one interpreter were injured in the incident...
04/23/08 DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Pvt. Ronald R. Harrison, 25, of Morris Plains, N.J., died April 22 at Forward Operating Base Falcon near Baghdad, Iraq, of a non-combat related injury. He was assigned to the 703rd Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team...
04/23/08 DoD Identifies Army Casualties (part 2 of 2)
Spc. Steven J. Christofferson, 20, of Cudahy, Wis...died April 21 in Bayji, Iraq, of wounds suffered when their vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. They were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry ...
04/23/08 DoD Identifies Army Casualties (part 1 of 2)
Sgt. Adam J. Kohlhaas, 26, of Perryville, Mo...died April 21 in Bayji, Iraq, of wounds suffered when their vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. They were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team...
04/23/08 MNF: MND-B Soldier attacked by small-arms fire Multi-National Division
A Multi-National Division - Baghdad Soldier was killed when he was attacked by small-arms fire while his patrol was conducting operations in eastern Baghdad at approximately 2:20 p.m. April 23.
04/22/08 DoD Identifies Navy Casualty
Petty Officer 1st Class Cherie L. Morton, 40, of Bakersfield, Calif., died April 20 in Galali, Muharraq, Bahrain. She was assigned to Naval Security Force, Naval Support Activity Bahrain.
04/22/08 DoD Identifies Navy Casualty
Airman Apprentice Adrian M. Campos, 22, of El Paso, Texas, was found dead in Dubai on April 21 due to a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Support Squadron 22, which was attached to the USNS Arctic.
U.S. Confirmed Deaths Reported Deaths: 4051 Confirmed Deaths: 4045 Pending Confirmation: 6 DoD Confirmation List
AP REPORTS: POLAND'S EMBASSY IN GREEN ZONE HIT BY MORTAR ATTACK
Poland says its embassy in Iraq hit by rocket or mortar
Polish foreign minister says embassy in Iraq hit by rocket or mortar, wounding 1 person
StaffAP News
Apr 24, 2008 09:59 EST
http://wiredispatch.com/news/?id=141157
Poland's foreign minister says a rocket or mortar has hit the country's embassy in Baghdad. One embassy worker was lightly wounded in the attack.
Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski says one mortar or rocket round hit the roof of the building housing the embassy's security staff. The living quarters are next to the embassy's main building in the Iraqi capital's Green Zone.
He says the attack will not affect Poland's mission in Iraq. Poland plans to withdraw its some 900 troops from Iraq by the end of October.
PETRAEUS PROMOTION FREES CHENEY TO THREATEN IRAN
The nomination of Gen. David Petraeus to be the new head of the Central Command not only ensures that he will be available to defend the George W. Bush administration's policies toward Iran and Iraq at least through the end of Bush's term and possibly even beyond.
POLITICS-US: Petraeus Promotion Frees Cheney to Threaten IranAnalysis by Gareth Porter*WASHINGTON, Apr 23 (IPS)
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42101-
It also gives Vice President Dick Cheney greater freedom of action to exploit the option of an air attack against Iran during the administration's final months. Petraeus will take up the CENTCOM post in late summer or early fall, according to Defence Secretary Robert Gates.
The ability of the administration to threaten Iran with an attack both publicly and behind the scenes had been dramatically reduced in 2007 by opposition from the former CENTCOM commander, Adm. William Fallon, until he stepped down from the post under pressure from Gates and the White House last month.
Petraeus has proved himself willing to cooperate closely with the White House policy lines on Iraq and Iran, arguing against any post-surge reduction in troop strength policy and blaming Iran for challenges to the U.S. military presence. Along with the deference to Petraeus in Congress and the media, his pliability on those issues made him the obvious choice to replace Fallon. But Petraeus had already effectively taken over many of the powers of the CENTCOM commander last year.
Click on link for full story
JUST ANOTHER DAY OF PEACE AND SERENITY IN IRAQ EXCEPT 2 GIS KILLED, I US CONTRACTOR KILLED, 50 IRAQIS KILLED, 114 IRAQIS WOUNDED
Except for these few "minor" incidents, Iraq was a calm and peaceful country, or at least that is what the Bush administration and FOX NEWS wants Americans to believe.
Wednesday: 2 US Soldiers, 1 US Contractor, 59 Iraqis Killed; 114 Iraqis Wounded
Updated at 12:27 a.m. EDT, April 24, 2008
http://www.antiwar.com/updates/?articleid=12733
At least 59 Iraqis were killed and 114 more were wounded in the latest violence, much of it involving continued fighting between the Mahdi army and Iraqi security forces. Exact figures are difficult to obtain due to the nature of the clashes. One American soldier was killed during combat operations in Baghdad, while the DOD reported the death of a U.S. soldier from non-combat injuries. The remains of an American contractor who was kidnapped in 2006 were positively identified. Also, a former Iraqi Vice President under Saddam Hussein, Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, has possibly been captured.
Lt. Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, second in charge of U.S. forces, says he hopes Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr will stop his followers from conducting attacks. This is unlikely to happen unless Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki meets the conditions set forth in recent negotiations, which he has refused to do so far. The fighting began last month after al-Maliki targeted al-Sadr's followers in Basra under the guise of a security crackdown. The Sadrists and many Western analysts believe the operation was initiated in order to undermine al-Sadr's political base ahead of elections. The crackdown was a failure, and fighting mostly ended when al-Sadr ordered his followers to observe a unilateral cease-fire he imposed on them last summer.
Sadr City has mostly been shut off from the rest of Baghdad due to the clashes. The casualty counts often conflict, but authorities believe that at least 400 civilians have been killed in Shi'ite suburb. Another 1,720 people were injured. Water, food, medical supplies and other essential items are running dangerously low, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
In Baghdad, clashes in Husseiniyah left seven people were killed and 20 were wounded, including civilians.
U.S. forces killed 15 suspects in separate events across Baghdad. Five people were wounded during a roadside bombing in Karrada. Two civilians were wounded during a roadside bombinb in Zaafaraniyah. In Shurta, a roadside bomb injured six people.
A roadside bomb in Doura targeted a U.S. patrol, but no casualties were reported. Three civilians were injured during a bombing in Yarmouk. Two gunmen were killed. Also, four bodies were recovered.
In Sadr City, authorities reported that eight civilians were killed and 44 more were wounded.
A coordinated attack in Mosul left four dead and nine injured. First, a suicide bomber detonated his vest. When first responders arrived and car bomb blasted them. In other incidents, another bomb killed one person and injured four others. Nine were injured in yet another bombing.. Three dumped bodies were found. A water employee was shot and killed. A policeman was killed during clashes. Gunmen shot at a private car, killing a man and wounding his wife. Four people were wounded during a mortar attack. Also, U.S. forces killed an al-Qaeda suspect and arrested five more.
The bodies of two oil security personnel were discovered next to oil pipelines near Tikrit.
A roadside bomb in Kirkuk injured two policemen, one an officer.
In Diyala province, 38 detainees were released.
Three dumped bodies were located in Mahmuhdiya.
U.S. forces conducted several raids in the Shurqat region. One suspect was killed, 25 were arrested and a large amount of cash was confiscated.
One suspect was killed and seven were arrested during U.S. raids in al-Jazeera.
Gunmen injured a teacher in Dhulwiya.
Four bodies were found in Muqdadiyah.
In Basra, clashes between the Mahdi army and Iraqi forces continued. Three suspects were arrested.
Mortars in Balad Ruz wounded four people.
Also, Turkish forces bombed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) locations in northern Iraq.
BREAKING NEWS: AP IS REPORTING 3 US SOLIDERS KILLED IN IRAQ
3 US soldiers killed in vehicle accidents in Iraq and Kuwait military says
StaffAP News
Apr 24, 2008 03:24 EST
http://wiredispatch.com/news/print/?id=140823
The U.S. military says two of its soldiers in Iraq died when their vehicle rolled onto its side north of Baghdad.
A third American soldier died in a road accident in neighboring Kuwait.
The two soldiers died Wednesday in Iraq's Salahuddin province. The military said in a statement released Thursday that another soldier and an interpreter also were injured.
The military says the highway accident in Kuwait involved a single vehicle and that another soldier was injured.
The cause of both crashes were under investigation.
Kuwait is a major logistics base for American and other coalition troops serving in neighboring Iraq.
Source: AP News
IRAQ'S PUPPET GOVERNMENT DOESN'T EXIST OUTSIDE THE GREEN ZONE
The whole idea that there is some kind of functioning Iraqi government in Iraq is a myth perpetrated by the Bush administration and their puppet news organization, FOX NEWS.
The al-Maliki government, which is a puppet government set up by the United States, has zero functions outside of the Green Zone.
Why Does the Bush Regime Want to Rule Iraq?
By Paul Craig Roberts 23/04/08 "ICH"
The Bush regime has quagmired America into a sixth year of war in Afghanistan and Iraq with no end in sight. The cost of these wars of aggression is horrendous. Official U.S. combat casualties stand at 4,538 dead.
Officially, 29,780 U.S. troops have been wounded in Iraq.On April 17, 2008, AP News reported that a new study released by the RAND Corporation concludes that "some 300,000 U.S. troops are suffering from major depression or post-traumatic stress from serving in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and 320,000 received brain injuries."
On April 21, 2008, OpEdNews.com reported that an internal e-mail from Gen. Michael J. Kussman, undersecretary for health at the Veterans Administration, to Ira Katz, head of mental health at the VA, confirms a McClatchy Newspaper report that 126 veterans per week commit suicide. To the extent that the suicides are attributable to the war, more than 500 deaths should be added to the reported combat fatalities each month.
Turning to Iraqi deaths, expert studies support as many as 1.2 million dead Iraqis, almost entirely civilians. Another 2 million Iraqis have fled their country, and there are 2 million displaced Iraqis within Iraq. Afghan casualties are unknown.Both Afghanistan and Iraq have suffered unconscionable civilian deaths and damage to housing, infrastructure, and environment. Iraq is afflicted with depleted uranium and open sewers.
Click on ICH link to read the full story.
CNN REPORTS: RED CROSS SAYS THEY ARE RUNNING OUT OF FOOD AND DRUGS IN SADR CITY
NEW: U.S. soldier killed in small-arms attack; U.S. death toll at 4,047
Fighting in Shiite neighborhood leaves main market in ruins, agency says
Hospitals in area run out of anesthesia and dressing supplies
Red Cross supplies 10,000 liters of drinking water daily to Sadr City
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/04/23/iraq.main/index.html
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Weeks of fighting in Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood have destroyed the main market and isolated civilians from supplies of food and water, the International Committee of the Red Cross warned Wednesday.
In addition, several hospitals in the predominantly Shiite neighborhood have run out of basic medical supplies, including anesthesia and dressings, the Red Cross said.
The Red Cross said Sadr City's largest market, al-Jamila, "used to provide enough supplies to cover everyday needs" before it was destroyed in the recent fighting.
"People are now short of food, especially as prices of fresh vegetables have increased considerably," it said.
The Red Cross managed to deliver 24,000 ready-made meals to Sadr City on Wednesday, as well as stock Sadr City General Hospital and two other hospitals with three tons of medical supplies, including anesthetics and intravenous infusion equipment. The relief agency continues to supply 10,000 liters of drinking water daily to the city.
Click on link to read full CNN story.
There was a brief lull in fighting Saturday, the Red Cross said, but it was not enough time to allow residents to stock up on basic supplies or seek medical care.
ONE US SOLDIER KILLED AS US DEPUTY COMMANDER PLEADS WITH AL-SADR TO STOP ATTACKS
BAGHDAD - A top American general urged radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Wednesday to rein in his fighters as a U.S. soldier was killed during a gunbattle in a militia stronghold in Baghdad.
By KIM GAMEL, Associated Press Writer
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/iraq;_ylt=AvvqZ5HyLd0teTd7uI4BsXdX6GMA
Two bombings also struck the northern city of Mosul within 30 minutes, killing four people and wounding 12 amid concerns that al-Qaida in Iraq is regrouping.
The U.S. soldier died from a bullet wound in a clash in New Baghdad, a stronghold of al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia in an eastern section of the capital, according to Lt. Col. Steve Stover, a military spokesman.
A rocket also slammed into a closed school as teenagers were playing soccer outside, killing two youths and wounding three amid sporadic fighting in the sprawling Sadr City district, a predominantly Shiite area of Baghdad that is home to 2.5 million people.
Fighting that began a month ago in response to an Iraqi government crackdown on militia violence has put a severe strain on a cease-fire called in late August by al-Sadr. The anti-U.S. cleric threatened this weekend to unleash his militia in "open war" if the operations persist.
Despite heightened rhetoric by al-Sadr and his followers, U.S. commanders have been careful not to directly link the cleric to the fighting, instead blaming Iranian-backed Shiite fighters who have broken with his movement
.
"We do not attribute what we've seen to JAM," said the No. 2 U.S. commander in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, using the Iraqi acronym for the Mahdi Army.
But he suggested al-Sadr could stop the attacks.
Click on link to read full story.
E-MAILS SUGGEST VA HID SUICIDE RISK OF VETERANS
In federal court Monday in San Francisco, attorneys for veterans' rights groups accused the U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs of nothing less than a cover-up - deliberately concealing the real risk of suicide among veterans."The system is in crisis and unfortunately the VA is in denial," said veterans rights attorney Gordon Erspamer.
E-Mails Suggest VA Hid Suicide Risk
By Armen Keteyian,CBS News
http://news.aol.com/health/story/ar/_a/e-mails-suggest-va-hid-suicide-risk/20080422095809990001
Watch Video: Suicide Risk Among Veterans Questioned
The charges were backed by internal e-mails written by Dr. Ira Katz, the VA's head of Mental Health.In the past, Katz has repeatedly insisted while the risk of suicide among veterans is serious, it's not outside the norm."There is no epidemic in suicide in VA," Katz told Keteyian in November.But in this e-mail to his top media adviser, written two months ago, Katz appears to be saying something very different, stating: "Our suicide prevention coordinators are identifying about 1,000 suicide attempts per month among veterans we see in our medical facilities."Katz's e-mail was written shortly after the VA provided CBS News data showing there were only 790 attempted suicides in all 2007 - a fraction of Katz's estimate."This 12,000 attempted suicides per year shows clearly, without a doubt, that there is an epidemic of suicide among veterans," said Paul Sullivan of Veterans for Common Sense.
Click on link above to read full story.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
VA SUED OVER CARE, HIGH SUICIDE RATES OF VETERANS
SAN FRANCISCO - Roughly 18 U.S. veterans commit suicide every week, advocates told a federal judge April 21 in San Francisco, blaming the United States government for doing such a bad job of caring for wounded war veterans.
VA Sued Over Care, High Suicide Rates
April 23, 2008Inter Press Service
http://www.military.com/news/article/va-sued-over-care-high-suicide-rates.html?col=1186032310810
"The suicide problem is out of control," said Gordon Erspamer, an attorney representing the groups Veterans for Common Sense and Veterans United for Truth in a class action lawsuit against the Department of Veterans Affairs. "Our veterans deserve better."
Erspamer's comments came in opening arguments for what is expected to be a week-long trial, the first class action brought on behalf of 1.7 million Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans.
Early arguments were punctuated by allegations that top government officials deliberately deceived the U.S. public about the number of veterans attempting suicide.
An e-mail made public during the trial revealed that the head of the VA's Mental Health division, Dr. Ira Katz, advised a media representative not to tell reporters that 1,000 veterans receiving care at the VA try to kill themselves every month.
"Shh!" the e-mail begins.
"Our suicide prevention coordinators are identifying about 1,000 suicide attempts per month among the veterans we see in our medical facilities. Is this something we should (carefully) address ourselves in some sort of release before someone stumbles on it?" the e-mail concludes.
According to CBS News, Katz's email was written shortly after the VA provided the network with data showing there were only 790 attempted suicides in all of 2007 -- a fraction of Katz's estimate.
Earlier this month, the city of Dallas, Texas, closed its psychiatric unit after the hospital experienced its fourth suicide of the year.
"On April 4, a man fastened a bed sheet to the bottom corner of a door frame, draped a noose over the top, and hanged himself," the Dallas Morning News reported last week. "Before that, a veteran hanged himself on a frame attached to his wheelchair. And in January, two men who met in the psychiatric ward committed suicide in Collin County days after being released."
"The system is in crisis, and unfortunately the VA is in denial," Erspamer told the court, urging U.S. District Court Judge Samuel Conti to appoint a special master to oversee the troubled agency. The veterans groups are also seeking a judge's order forbidding the VA from turning away any veteran who shows up at a facility seeking mental health care.
In a number of high-profile cases, Iraq war veterans have killed themselves after being turned away from the VA.
Lawyers for the government disagreed strongly with the veterans, claiming that the VA runs a "world-class health care system." Multiple times during his opening statement, Justice Department lawyer Richard Lepley portrayed the veterans' groups as "special interests" and argued the changes the groups seek in their lawsuit -- better and faster mental health care, and more rights for veterans appealing denials of benefits -- are beyond the judge's authority.
"You have no standards to judge," Lepley told Conti. "This court shouldn't be trying to be a substitute for what the medical professionals at the VA decide."
No veterans are set to testify at the trial, which focuses on the nature of the Byzantine bureaucratic system that veterans must navigate to receive health care and disability benefits. According the Department of Veterans Affairs, the average time a veteran must wait to learn if his or her disability claim has been approved is 185 days, or about six months.
Veterans' groups have asserted that the real wait is much longer, noting that if a veteran appeals the disability ruling, the appeals process can drag on for years. According to internal VA documents provided by the plaintiffs, 526 veterans have died this year while their disability claims were being reviewed.
None of this surprises Kelly Conklin of Chunchula, Ala.
Her husband Manuel became wheelchair-bound after experiencing a negative reaction to an anthrax vaccine administered as he was preparing to deploy to Iraq with the U.S. Navy in 2003. Military doctors pumped him with steroids and other medicine in hopes that he would recover, Conklin said, but in 2005 she came to realize that a recovery was unlikely, so she filed a claim with the VA for disability compensation.
After three years, the family is still waiting.
"It's an every day battle," Kelly Conklin said. "We're having grits and eggs for supper tonight and a lot of nights. Sometimes we don't eat anything but lima beans for supper -- it depends on what we have."
In the absence of a regular paycheck or a disability check, Conklin said her family of four is now living almost completely off charity, with much of the food they eat coming from the local food bank.
She said she used to be proud of her husband for his service in the Navy but has now forbidden her youngest son from joining the Armed Forces.
"If it sounds like I'm down -- yes I am down," she said. "If I sound like I'm bitter, you got that right. They've taken everything away from me. The only thing left for them to take from me is my birthday."
"When we give them our spouses, we give them whole," she said. "And if you can't make him whole [again], then you make sure he's taken care of."
Click here for more information on PTSD.
ROUGHLY 18 US VETS COMMIT SUICIDE EVERY WEEK
Roughly 18 U.S. veterans commit suicide every week, advocates told a federal judge April 21 in San Francisco. "The suicide problem is out of control," said Gordon Erspamer, an attorney representing the groups Veterans for Common Sense and Veterans United for Truth in a class action lawsuit against the Department of Veterans Affairs. "Our veterans deserve better." "Our suicide prevention coordinators are identifying about 1,000 suicide attempts per month among the veterans we see in our medical facilities."
(Ed. Note: click on part in "BLUE" to read full story.)
US CASUALTY REPORT AND HOUR-BY-HOUR ACTS OF VIOLENCE WEDNESDAY IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN
While the media in the United States dissects the results of the primary in Pennsylvania yesterday, there were more US casualties in Iraq and we also have an hour-by-hour report of acts of violence carried out Wednesday, April 23 in Iraq and Afghanistan.
War News for Wednesday, April 23, 2008
US CASUALTY REPORT: (Click on part in "BLUE" for additional details)
Source: http://warnewstoday.blogspot.com/
Casualty Reports:Lt. Col. Ray Rivas, of New Braunfels, was presented with a Purple Heart on Tuesday at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. Incoming mortars and indirect fire left Rivas with a serious brain injury on October 12, 2006 while he was working as a civil affairs officer at the Tallil Forward Operating Base in Iraq, according to an Army release. Rivas says he doesn’t remember the details of the incident, or what he was doing that moment he was wounded.In fact, Rivas — who then was employed as an Army engineer — returned to work immediately. That day in October, “he wasn’t even taken in immediately for treatment, but as the brain started to swell, his behavior got more and more bizarre,” his wife Colleen Rivas said. Soon, others began to notice Ray behaving strangely, and medical personnel gave him an MRI. The scan revealed serious brain injuries. Then, en route to Germany, his heart stopped.“He was down for four minutes,” Colleen said. “They were going to pronounce him dead, but they brought him back.”
Captain Martin Hewitt, aged 27, is still recovering from serious injury, having been shot in the right arm last July. The bullet severed the nerves in his arm, leaving him with dramatically impaired mobility in the limb. Martin joined the army in 2004 and is a platoon commander in the Parachute Regiment.
The DoD is reporting the death of a sailor, Airman Apprentice Adrian M. Campos was found dead in a non-combat related incident in Dubai on Monday, April 21st. No other details were released and the incident is under investigation.
The DoD is reporting the death of a sailor, Petty Officer 1st Class Cherie L. Morton who died in Galali, Muharraq, Bahrain on Sunday, April 20th. The details on her death weren't released and the cause of death is under investigation.
Roughly 18 U.S. veterans commit suicide every week, advocates told a federal judge April 21 in San Francisco. "The suicide problem is out of control," said Gordon Erspamer, an attorney representing the groups Veterans for Common Sense and Veterans United for Truth in a class action lawsuit against the Department of Veterans Affairs. "Our veterans deserve better." "Our suicide prevention coordinators are identifying about 1,000 suicide attempts per month among the veterans we see in our medical facilities."
Security incidents:Baghdad:#1: U.S. forces said on Wednesday they had killed 15 gunmen overnight in Shi'ite areas of Baghdad, where fighting has raged for weeks between militiamen loyal to cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and security forces. In a statement, the U.S. military said ground forces and aircraft had been involved in several attacks. The first began around dusk on Tuesday, the military said.One hospital in Sadr City, the cleric's stronghold in eastern Baghdad, said it had received five bodies overnight from clashes and air strikes. It said 22 people had been wounded.
#2: In eastern Baghdad, US and Iraqi troops launched more security sweeps in Sadr City, the enclave of the Shiite Mahdi Army militia. Explosions and an exchange of fire were heard in the slum area, where government troops backed by US forces are launching a crackdown on followers of al-Sadr. At least seven people were killed and 16 injured, most of them Iraqi troops, during operations against armed groups in Baghdad over the last 24 hours, according to an Iraqi military statement.
#3: Fierce fighting broke out during a military operation late Tuesday in Husseiniyah, a mainly Shiite area that sits to the north of Baghdad's embattled Sadr City district. U.S. and Iraqi troops were backed by helicopters as they fought until Wednesday morning with suspected Shiite militiamen who dominate the area, police said. Women and children were among 20 people who were wounded, they said.
#4: Police and hospital officials, who all spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to release the information, also said eight civilians were killed and 44 others wounded in fighting in Sadr City, a sprawling district in northeastern Baghdad.
#5: A seriously wounded man died as an ambulance speeding him to the hospital was caught in the crossfire, and an elementary school was damaged, police said.
#6: U.S. soldiers responded after they were attacked by rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire, killing 12 "criminals" in three separate incidents Tuesday in eastern Baghdad, the military said.
#7: A man planting a roadside bomb in northeastern Baghdad also was shot to death by American soldiers in northeastern Baghdad, while two others spotted with a mortar tube were killed in an airstrike, according to the military statement.
#8: Almost 700 rockets and mortar rounds were fired from various locations in Baghdad in the past month, 114 of which hit at the highly fortified Green Zone, a US commander said on Wednesday.Colonel Allen Batschelet said that a total of 697 rockets and mortar bombs were fired in the Iraqi capital between March 23 and April 20.Of these 114 hit the Green Zone, also known as the International Zone (IZ), where the Iraqi government and US embassy are based, he said."Eighty-two percent of the rockets and mortars that hit the IZ originated from Sadr City," said Batschelet.
#9: Around 8am, a roadside bomb targeted an American patrol at Al-Butil at Zafaraniyah neighborhood (east Baghdad).Two civilians were injured with no information on the American’s side.
#10: Around 2 pm, a roadside bomb targeted an American patrol on the high way of Mikanik in Dora (south Baghdad). No casualties reported.
#11: Around noon, a roadside bomb targeted a police patrol at Nafaq Al-Shurta neighborhood (west Baghdad) .Six people were injured including two policemen.
#12: Around 2 pm, a roadside bomb targeted a police patrol at Qahtan intersection near Yarmouk neighborhood (west Baghdad).Three civilians were injured in that incident.
Diyala Prv:#1: update A woman suicide bomber killed 18 people and wounded two in an attack on a police station in Iraq's Diyala province, the US military said Wednesday. Eleven Iraqi civilians and seven policemen were killed in the attack on Monday evening, the military statement said.
Tikrit:#1: Iraqi police found two bodies near oil pipelines close to Tikrit, 175 km (110 miles) north of Baghdad. They said the dead were guards of the pipeline facility, police said.
#2: In the morning, An American squad raided Albu Marouf village at Al-Jazira area (25 km south west Tikrit) .One person was killed and seven others were arrested by the American squad who are from one family .Also six cars were damaged in that incident. We have no confirmation of that incident from the MNF-I at the time of this report.
Hawija:#1: In the morning, gunmen injured the teacher Jalal Khorsheed in Hawija Bahriyah in Dhulwiya (south of Tikrit and 80 km north of Baghdad).
Kirkuk:#1: Five unidentified bodies were buried on Wednesday in southern Kirkuk, the head of the religious committee said.
Mosul:#1: In Mosul, which has become a hotbed of Sunni insurgency, a bomb blast killed a civilian and injured four others in the northern Rashidiya district, Major Fadil Kuran from the city police told the Voices of Iraq news agency.
#2: In the centre of Mosul, a suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt blew himself up inside a currency exchange office in Dawasa, killing two people, one of whom was an army officer, and injuring six, according to Brigadier General Khalid Abdel-Sattar, the spokesman for the Nineveh operations command.
#3: Shortly after the suicide bombing, a car bomb detonated by remote control went off, also in the centre of the city, injuring three people, including a policeman, Abdel-Sattar said.
#4: A policeman was killed in clashes between gunmen and police in western Mosul, police said.
Afghanistan:#1: In Kandahar province, a suicide bomber blew himself up next to a vehicle carrying intelligence agents in the border town of Spin Boldak, killing three civilians, Kandahar Gov. Assadullah Khalid said. Two children and three intelligence agents were among the 14 hurt, Khalid said. A 16-year-old boy who was wounded in the explosion said police shot at the bomber before he detonated explosives. "Police opened fire at the man after he ran toward a group of civilians. He then threw his shawl and then there was a big explosion," said Rehmat Ullah.
#2: In neighboring Helmand province, a suicide bomber struck a police convoy, killing two officers and wounding three, said district police chief Khairudin Shuhja. Shuhja was in the convoy but was not injured in the attack. As the bomber approached the car, guards opened fire, wounding the attacker, who then blew himself up, Shuhja said.
#3: In eastern Kunar province, Taliban militants attacked a police border post, killing five officers and wounding seven others, said provincial police chief Abdul Jalal Jalal.
#4: Separately, a border police patrol in northwestern Badghis province hit a mine, killing three officers riding in the vehicle, regional police chief Gen. Khalil Andarabi said.
VA COVERING UP VETERAN SUICIDE RATE
VA covering up veteran suicide rate Wed, 23 Apr 2008 11:34:43
Dr. Ira Katz, VA deputy chiefUS Sen. Patty Murray has called for the resignation of Dr. Ira Katz, a chief mental health official of US Department of Veterans Affairs. Murray, the senior member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, called for the resignation of Katz on Tuesday, saying he, and other VA officials, tried to cover up the rising number of veteran suicides and deliberately withheld crucial information on the true suicide risk among veterans.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=52769§ionid=3510203
Murray said, "Dr. Katz's irresponsible actions have been a disservice to our veterans and it is time for him to go. The number one priority of the VA should be caring for our veterans, not covering up the truth." Murray made the comment after she and other Democratic senators said they were shocked when they found emails showing that Katz and other VA officials tried to conceal the number of suicides by veterans.
One email which was revealed at a lawsuit this week started with 'Shh!' referring to the 12,000 veterans per year who attempt suicide while under the VA Department treatment. Another email revealed at the trial said that an average of 18 military veterans kill themselves each day, with five of them being under the VA care when they commit suicide.
According to the VA facilities record, at the moment, the numbers of suicide deaths and attempts show an increase from 492 in 2000 to 790 in 2007, but do not record how many veterans overall take their own lives.
5 US SOLDIERS KILLED IN IRAQ
BAGHDAD - A suicide car bomb and roadside bombings have killed five US troops, including three marines, the American military announced on Tuesday.
The latest deaths bring the US military's overall toll since the March 2003 invasion to 4,044, according to a tally based on independent website www.icasualties.org. The military has lost 32 troops since the start of this month.
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=25489
Two marines were killed and three others wounded when a bomber slammed his explosives-laden car into a checkpoint near the western Iraqi city of Ramadi at around 7:30 am (0430 GMT), the military said.
Two Iraqi policemen and 24 civilians were also wounded in the attack near the city, the capital of Anbar province, which was once the symbol of Sunni Arab insurgency against US forces.
A third marine was killed and another wounded in a separate roadside bomb attack in Basra on Monday, the military said in a separate statement.
This is the first US military loss in Basra since Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki launched a crackdown against Shiite militiamen there on March 25.
US forces have been sent to Basra to support Iraqi troops after fierce clashes broke out in the port city following the crackdown.
Basra and southern Iraq were under the overall command of British troops who late last year moved into one base near the city airport after handing over the province to Iraqi forces.
Another roadside bomb attack killed two US soldiers and wounded another two, as well as three Iraqis, in north-central Salaheddin province on Monday, the US military said.
The bomb detonated "during operations" in the province, the statement said without elaborating.
The Iraqis injured comprised two members of an "Awakening" anti-Qaeda front and an interpreter.
WASHINGTON POST: IRAQI WOMEN TAKE ON ROLES OF DEAD OR MISSING HUSBANDS
Iraqi Women Take On Roles Of Dead or Missing Husbands
For One Mother, Bedside AK-47 Signified Change
By Ernesto LondoñoWashington Post Foreign ServiceWednesday, April 23, 2008; A01
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/22/AR2008042203239.html
BAGHDAD, April 22 -- Sabriyah Hilal Abadi began sleeping with a loaded AK-47 by her bed shortly after the war began.
It was a comforting possession for a woman who had lost her home, her husband and, last weekend, a room in a dilapidated building she shared with 27 squatter families, most headed by women.
The mother of four fought mightily to stay in the sparse, two-story building in the Zayouna neighborhood of Baghdad that once belonged to Hussein's Baath Party, but soldiers forced her out.
Iraq's government is intent on proving it can enforce the law. But in its determination to rid the party building of its squatters, the women say, the government has plunged them deeper into homelessness and may have pushed others toward violence.
Thousands of Iraqi women have in recent years embraced new roles as violence has claimed their men. For Abadi, 43, the turning point came when she accepted the powerful assault rifle from friends concerned about her welfare.
Click on link to continue reading.
US FLAWED "SURGE" POLICY IS DUPLICATE OF ISRAEL'S FLAWED OCCUPATION STRATEGIES
Surging Towards Gaza: How the U.S. is Reproducing Israel's Flawed Occupation Strategies in Iraq
By Steve Niva, Foreign Policy in Focus
Posted on April 23, 2008, Printed on April 23, 2008
http://www.alternet.org/story/83169/
The new "surge" strategy in Iraq, led by General David Petreaus, has been heavily marketed as an example of the U.S. military's application of the "lessons of history" from previous counterinsurgencies to Iraq, foremost among them the need to win the population over from insurgents through cultivating human relationships, addressing popular grievances and providing security.
Yet one glance at the realities on the ground in Iraq today reveal that the cornerstone of current U.S. military strategy is less about cultivating human relationships than about limiting them, primarily through concrete walls and checkpoints. And it has been less about minimizing violence than containing Iraq's population and redirecting the battlefield from the streets to the skies above Iraq.
While the coffee klatches between Marine commanders and Sunni tribal sheikhs may garner all the publicity, the real story on the ground in Iraq is that from Baghdad to Mosul, the U.S. military has been busy constructing scores of concrete walls and barriers between and around Iraqi neighborhoods, which it terms "Gated Communities." In Baghdad alone, 12-foot-high walls now separate and surround at least eleven Sunni and Shiite enclaves. Broken by narrow checkpoints where soldiers monitor traffic via newly issued ID cards, these walls have turned Baghdad into dozens of replica Green Zones, dividing neighbor from neighbor and choking off normal commerce and communications. Similar walls are being erected in other Iraqi cities, while the entire city of Falluja remains surrounded by a razor-wire barrier, with only one point of entry into the city. Moreover, the U.S. military has doubled its use of unmanned aerial drones and increasingly relies upon aerial strikes to quell insurgent activities, often through bombings and targeted assassinations.
While there is no question that overall levels of violence have temporarily decreased, Iraq has become virtually caged in a carapace of concrete walls and razor wire, reinforced by an aerial occupation from the sky. Reporting from a recent visit to the Dora neighborhood of Baghdad, the seasoned journalist Nir Rosen noted in Rolling Stone that:
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.
The Israeli Laboratory
The explosion of walls and enclaves reinforced by aerial violence across Iraq suggest that the primary counterinsurgency lessons being followed by the U.S. military in Iraq today derive less from the lessons of "Lawrence of Arabia" than from Israel's experiences in the Occupied Palestinian Territories over the past decade.
Over the past decade, Israel has developed a pacification strategy against Palestinian resistance to its military occupation by erecting separation walls and checkpoints across Palestinian territory that has enclosed Palestinians within a proliferating archipelago of ethnic enclaves to separate them from each other and from illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian land. This wall and enclave strategy is maintained under a blanket of aerial Israeli surveillance and deadly unmanned drones, which target the frequent airborne assassinations and strikes. This strategy reached its apotheosis in Gaza following Israel's withdrawal of its soldiers and settlements in 2005. In Gaza, 1.5 million Palestinians are now living within an enclosed cage, while Israel controls access to the essentials of life through high-tech border terminals and unleashes "penetration raids" and airborne "targeted killings" when resistance is offered.
Iraq, it seems, is surging towards Gaza.
This fact is not missed by average Iraqis. Visiting the Sunni bastion of Amriya in Baghdad, Nir Rosen in The Nation recounts how his Iraqi driver pointed to a gap in the concrete walls with which the U.S. occupation forces have surrounded Amriya: "We call it the Rafah Crossing." He was referring to the one gate from besieged Gaza to Egypt that the Israeli army occasionally allows to open.
The U.S. military's virtual reproduction of distinctively Israeli counterinsurgency tactics in Iraq reveals that claims about applying the "lessons of history" of counterinsurgent warfare to Iraq are largely beside the point. The actual application of counterinsurgency on the ground in Iraq has a distinctly Israeli DNA, born of very recent lessons from Israel's own urban warfare laboratory in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
This should not be surprising. The Israeli DNA in the new "surge" strategy is only the latest manifestation of a widely overlooked but unmistakable American predilection to increasingly draw from Israel's urban warfare laboratory and its flawed efforts to devise fresh tactics in the service of rebooting its own military occupation of Palestinian lands. What we are seeing in Iraq today has much less to do with the declared shift in U.S. military doctrine than with a deeper and more far-reaching "Israelization" of U.S. military strategy and tactics over the past two decades that was only heightened by America's misadventures in the Middle East after September 11, 2001. In the search for new means to confront urban insurgencies in predominately Arab and Muslim lands, there has been a complex institutional and cultural harmonization between these two militaries under the banner of fighting "the war on terror," though the traffic is mostly in one direction. In light of the real lessons of counterinsurgency history, however, mimicking Israel is a recipe for failure.
The "Israelization" of U.S. Military Doctrine and Tactics
This "Israelization" of U.S. military doctrine and tactics can be traced back to the early 1990's, especially the "Black-hawk down" debacle of 1993 in Somalia, which led U.S. military strategists to rethink their approach to fighting urban warfare in poor Third World "battle spaces." In the following years, according to urban theorist Mike Davis in his 2004 article, "The Pentagon as Global Slum Lord," Israeli advisors were brought in to teach Marines, Rangers and Navy Seals the state of the art tactics against urban insurgencies that Israel was using to ruthlessly suppress Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.
This tactical "Israelization" of U.S. combat doctrine was accompanied by what Davis terms a deeper strategic "Sharonization" (referring to Israeli militarist and later Prime Minister Ariel Sharon) of the Pentagon's worldview in which U.S. military strategists began to envision the capacity of high-tech warfare to contain and possibly defeat insurgencies rooted in third world urban environments. Sharon is known to have kept by his bedside a well-thumbed Hebrew edition of Alistair's Horne's A Savage War of Peace, an account of the failed French effort to defeat the Algerian insurgency against French colonial occupation. While many viewed the French defeat as proof of the futility of military solutions to anti-colonial insurgencies, Sharon's belief was that Israel could learn from Algeria to get right what the French did not. In 2001, the journalist Robert Fisk reported, Sharon told French Prime Minister Jacques Chirac in a phone conversation that the Israelis were "like you in Algeria," the only difference being that "we [the Israelis] will stay."
The "Israelization" of U.S. military doctrine and tactics since the attacks on September 11, 2001, has gone so far as to create what the Palestinian academic Marwan Bishara, writing in Al-Ahram Weekly, has termed a new "strategic cult" in which Israel's "asymmetrical war" against the Palestinians became seen as a continuation of the U.S. "war on terrorism" in both theory and practice. Learning from Israel's experiences centered on the need for new precision weaponry and a tactical emphasis on aerial assassinations and armored bulldozers, as well as other elements of Israel's fighting style in the new "asymmetrical" and urban battle spaces. According to The Independent's Justin Huggler, Israel's unprecedented assault on Palestinian cities and the refugee camp in Jenin during "Operation Defensive Shield" in April 2002 was keenly observed by foreign militaries, particularly the United States and UK as they geared up to invade and occupy Iraq.
Click on link to read full account.
FEMALE BOMBER KILLS 6 COPS, AND INJURES 12 OTHERS IN IRAQ
Baaquba, Apr 22, (VOI)- At least six policemen were killed and 12 persons were injured on Tuesday when a female bomber blew herself up near a police department in northeast of Baghdad, a police source said.
Diala - Voices of Iraq Tuesday , 22 /04 /2008 Time 9:18:24
http://www.aswataliraq.info/look/english/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrArticle=77144&NrIssue=2&NrSection=1
“A female bomber blew up an explosive belt strapped to her body in front of the building of the Jololaa police department in Khaneqeen district, northeast of Baaquba,” the source, who asked to be unnamed, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq (VOI).“The explosion killed five policemen and a Kurdish security element and wounded 12 persons, including two policemen,” he explained.Baaquba, the capital of Diala, lies 57 km northeast of Baghdad.
US TROOPS SAY BUSH ADMINISTRATION OVERLY EXAGGERATED WHAT IRAQI ARMY DID IN BASRA
Time adds that even Iraqi commanders, “hailed by the Americans and boastful of their recent fights, are doubtful of whether their troops could ultimately stand alone.”
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/22/troops-basra/
Earlier this month, the southern Iraqi city of Basra was engulfed in violence as radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr calling for the “downfall of the U.S.-backed government.”
As Reuters noted, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s crackdown on the militias largely “backfired, exposing the weakness of his army and strengthening his political foes ahead of elections.” Yet the Bush administration and its allies have attempted to portray this violence as a success, demonstrating the capability of the Iraqi army:
– “It was a very positive moment in the development of a sovereign nation that is willing to take on elements that believe they are beyond the law.” [President Bush, 3/27/08]
– “This is an Iraqi led and Iraqi initiated operation. And this is what we’ve been wanting to see the Iraqis do is take on more responsibility.” [White House spokeswoman Dana Perino, 3/25/08]
– “As you know, we saw a thousand police and military desert their posts. But the rest of the military did a pretty good job, did a pretty good job. We did secure the port of Basra. Maybe I’m digging for the pony here.” [Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), 4/15/08]
– “We’re going to talk about Iraq and the Iraqi offensive, which I think, in a sense, is good news. Because it’s the Iraqi government, who’s mostly Shi’ite, taking on Shi’ite outlaw militias in the southern part of the country and this is after all what the whole point of the surge.” [Fox News’s Chris Wallace, 3/28/08]
According to a new Time magazine article, some U.S. troops are bristling at all the undue credit being lavished upon the Iraqi forces:
And at least one American soldier said he was angry that the role of Iraqi troops was exaggerated after the battle. “A gunfight broke out and we were fighting [the Mahdi Army] for about four hours,” the soldier told TIME. “The army article made it sound like we were just there supporting the Iraqi Army, but we did all the work. We just had four humvees out there with some Iraqi [troops].”
Another soldier at Forward Operating Base Kalsu in north Babil said he has little confidence in the battle abilities of the Iraqi forces. “Sometimes they start shooting because they heard or saw something, but then there’s nothing there,” he said.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
NAMES AND HOMETOWNS OF LATEST US CASUALTIES FROM IRAQ WAR
Below is the latest information on US casualties in Iraq. You can get more details by clicking on the part in "blue."
Latest Coalition Fatalities
Source: http://icasualties.org/oif/
04/22/08 DoD Identifies Navy Casualty
Airman Apprentice Adrian M. Campos, 22, of El Paso, Texas, was found dead in Dubai on April 21 due to a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Support Squadron 22, which was attached to the USNS Arctic.
04/22/08 MNF: Marines attacked by SVBIED near Ramadi - 2 killed, 3 wounded
Two MNF-West Marines were killed when a suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated at an entry control point in the vicinity of Ramadi, Iraq, at approximately 7:30 a.m. April 22. The SVBIED attack wounded three other Marines.
04/22/08 MNF: Marines attacked by IED - 1 killed, 1 wounded
A Multi-National Force – West Marine was killed by an improvised explosive device in Basra, Iraq, April 21. Additionally, one Marine was injured in the attack.
04/21/08 DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Spc. Benjamin K. Brosh, 22, of Colorado Springs, Colo., died April 18 at Forward Operating Base Anaconda in Balad, Iraq, of wounds suffered in Paliwoda, Iraq, when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device...
04/21/08 DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Spc. Lance O. Eakes, 25, of Apex, N.C., died April 18 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 1132nd Military Police Company, North Carolina Army National Guard..
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04/21/08 MNF: MND-N Soldiers attacked by IED - 2 killed, 2 wounded
Two Multi-National Division – North Soldiers were killed when an improvised explosive device detonated during operations in the Salah ad Din Province April 21. Two Soldiers were also wounded in the attack, as well as two Sons of Iraq members...
U.S. Confirmed Deaths Reported Deaths: 4045 Confirmed Deaths: 4040 Pending Confirmation: 5 DoD Confirmation List
MARINE CORP TIMES: PENTAGON BLASTED FOR RECRUITING FELONS BUT NOT GAYS
DoD blasted for recruiting felons, not gays
By Andrew Tilghman - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Apr 22, 2008 14:45:10 EDT
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/04/marine_dontask_042208/
Advocates for homosexuals in the military are criticizing the Pentagon for accepting hundreds of felons — including at least 350 into the Marine Corps — while continuing to prohibit gays and lesbians under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.
The criticism comes after yesterday’s release of statistics showing a sharp increase in the number of waivers granted for recruits with felony convictions. Between fiscal years 2006 and 2007, the number of felony waivers granted for Marine Corps active-duty recruits jumped by nearly 75 percent, from 208 to 350, Department of Defense data shows.
“This data shines a bright light on the outrageousness and absurdity of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’” said Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the military watchdog group Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, in a written statement. “On the one hand, the Pentagon is discharging highly-qualified, honest, law-abiding men and women because they are gay, while on the other hand granting waivers to rapists, killers, kidnappers and terrorists. Granting waivers for child molesters and rapists to serve while discharging lesbians and gays is utter madness.”
SLDN is a national nonprofit organization that advocates for allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military and provides legal help for troops affected by the policy.
UPDATE ON BREAKING NEWS: 3 MARINES KILLED, 4 WOUNDED AT RAMADI CHECKPOINT
3 Marines killed, 4 wounded in Ramadi, Basra
Baghdad - Voices of Iraq
Tuesday , 22 /04 /2008 Time 9:18:24
http://www.aswataliraq.info/look/english/article.tpl?IdLanguage=1&IdPublication=4&NrArticle=77136&NrIssue=2&NrSection=1
(Ed. Note: This is an update on a story posted earlier)
Baghdad, Apr 22, (VOI)- Three U.S. Marines were killed and four were wounded in two explosions in Basra and Ramadi, the U.S. army said on Tuesday.
“Two Multi-National Force – West Marines were killed when a suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated at an entry control point in the vicinity of Ramadi, Iraq, at approximately 7:30 a.m. April 22,” according to a U.S. army statement received by Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI).
“The SVBIED attack wounded three other Marines. Two Iraqi Police and 24 local Iraqis were also wounded in the attack,” the statement added.Ramadi, the capital of Anbar, is 110 km west of Baghdad.“A Multi-National Force – West Marine was killed by an improvised explosive device in Basra, Iraq, April 21,” the U.S. army said in another statement.“
Additionally, one Marine was injured in the attack,” it also said.Basra lies 590 km south of Baghdad.The three deaths bring to 4044 the number of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq since the beginning of military operations in March 2003.
Of this number, 32 soldiers have been so far killed in April.29 servicemen were killed in February 2008, while 40 were killed in January 2008.December 2007 saw the death of 23, thus becoming the month with the second lowest number of U.S. fatalities after February 2004 during which 20 soldiers were killed.November 2004, which witnessed fierce battles between U.S. forces and armed groups in Falluja city, Anbar province, remains the month that witnessed the highest U.S. death toll with 137.April 2004 comes second with 135, followed by May 2007 during which 126 U.S. soldiers were killed.
CONDI RICE: MUQTADA A COWARD
Rice: Muqtada a Coward
Najaf Tense; Veterans Depressed, Unemployed
By Juan Cole
21/04/08 "ICH" -- - Ned Parker, Raheem Salman and Saad Fakhrildeen get the story in Najaf, the Shiite holy city south of Baghdad.
The four grand ayatollahs, pillars of middle and upper class Shiite orthodoxy, are fearful of the influence of young Muqtada al-Sadr, leader of the millenarian workers and the poor. The authors do not note the irony, but I thought it amusing that both sides were blaming Iran for their troubles, which suggests that the troubles are indigenous. It is an excellent article; I wish it had said more about the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, from which the governor comes, and the Badr Corps, from which the deputy governor comes; both have strong Iran ties and they are the powers that be in Najaf; it is they the Mahdi Army mainly challenges, not just the four grand ayatollahs. Also, they did not say anything about the rumors that the chief grand ayatollah, Ali Sistani, is in bad health.
Rice has her 'bring'em on moment' in Iraq, talking trash to the Mahdi Army and calling Muqtada al-Sadr a 'coward.' Muqtada al-Sadr eluded Saddam Hussein for 4 years after Saddam killed his father and two elder brothers; and in 2004 he twice took on the US military. He may be a lot of things, but he is not a coward.
Has Rice ever said anything about Iraq that was true or useful? Even as she was talking up 'improved security' in Baghdad, mortar shells were falling about her in the Green Zone.Over the weekend there were clashes in Nasiriya between Mahdi Army militiamen and the Iraqi army. Although this official Iraqi government communique suggests that 40 militiamen were killed and 40 captured and does not mention government casualties, I'd take it all with a grain of salt. What is not apparent from the squib is that the Iraqi government is so weak it is having to fight for a toehold in one of its own cities.
Click on ICH link above to read the full article.
2 US MARINES DIE IN IRAQI CHECKPOINT BOMBING
BAGHDAD - A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden car at an entry control point to the western town of Ramadi on Tuesday, killing two U.S. Marines and wounding three others, the military said.
Three wounded in Ramadi attack; unmanned drone kills two insurgents
The Associated Press
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24256796/
One civilian was killed and two dozen other residents were wounded in the blast. Ramadi is the capital of the former Sunni insurgent stronghold of Anbar province, and has been relatively peaceful since local tribal leaders joined forces with the U.S. military against al-Qaida in Iraq.
In Baghdad's embattled Sadr City district, an unmanned drone killed two gunmen, while another remote-controlled aircraft crashed south of the capital, the U.S. military said Tuesday.
U.S. Apache attack helicopters and armed Predator drones have been launching daily strikes against militiamen clashing with Iraqi and U.S. troops in Sadr City, a sprawling district of 2.5 million people.
There has been a sharp increase in violence in the country since Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki launched an offensive against Shiite militias in the southern city of Basra nearly a month ago. The fighting quickly spread to Sadr City, one of the strongholds of the Mahdi Army militia of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, to which U.S. and Iraqi forces have laid siege.
Militiamen also have responded by repeatedly shelling Baghdad's U.S.-protected Green Zone, which houses the U.S. Embassy and offices of the Iraqi government.
Last weekend, al-Sadr, who is believed to be in Iran, threatened to declare full-scale war on the U.S.-backed government if attacks on his followers continue. And on Monday, top Sadrists warned that open warfare was a "strong possibility" if the government did not ease the pressure on the Mahdi militia.
A military statement said that a drone spotted two gunmen with a rocket-propelled grenade launcher late Monday and engaged them with a Hellfire missile. Both men were killed.
Roadside bombIn another firefight in Sadr City, U.S. troops were hit by a roadside bomb and then attacked with small-arms fire. Troops returned fire and killed three attackers, a statement said.
But near Iskandariyah, a town 30 miles south of Baghdad, a Shadow reconnaissance drone crashed early Tuesday, local police said. The U.S. military said it was investigating the cause of the crash.
Unlike the much larger Predator, the Shadow is an unarmed lightweight craft equipped with a camera capable of producing color video in daylight and thermal images at night, which it conveys back to controllers on the ground.
AssassinationApril has been a bad month for the drones, which are routinely used to monitor strife-torn areas of the country. Earlier in the month, two Predators crashed in different parts of Iraq and one was lost in Afghanistan. All are believed to have suffered mechanical failure, since insurgents in both countries lack even rudimentary anti-aircraft weapons.
In Basra, a senior aide to Iraq's top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani died on Tuesday, a week after being seriously injured in an assassination attempt. Two other al-Sistani representatives were injured in separate ambushes.
The attacks came just days after a top aide of al-Sadr was killed in Najaf, suggesting the violence could be part of an internal Shiite power struggle.
MULTIPLE US DEATHS IN IRAQ. WE HAVE DETAILS
War News for Tuesday, April 22, 2008
(Ed Note: Click on part in blue or shaded area for further details)
MNF-Iraq is reporting the deaths of two Multi-National Division - North soldier in a roadside bombing in Salah ad Din Province on Monday, April 21st. Two other soldiers and three Iraqis were wounded in the attack.
The British MoD is reporting the death of a soldier from a mine attack between Gereshk and Camp Bastion, Kandahar Province, Afghanistan on Monday, April 21st. One additional soldier war wounded in the attack. Here's the ISAF statement.
MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a Multi-National Force – West Marine in a roadside bombing in Basra on Monday, April 21st. One Additional soldier was wounded in the attack.
MNF-Iraq is reporting the deaths of two Multi-National Force – West Marines in a suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device in Ramadi, Al Anbar Province on Tuesday, April 22nd. Three other Marines, two Iraqi Police and 24 local Iraqis were wounded in the attack.
Security incidents:Baghdad:#1: In Baghdad, a crew from the Biladi television channel were attacked by gunmen in the eastern Zayouna district, according to a statement by the Journalistic Freedoms Observatory group. A reporter, a cameraman and their driver were injured when gunmen opened fire on them. The cameraman, Hamid Hisham, was seriously injured and was to undergo emergency surgery, the group said.
#2: A US aerial weapons team fought with two "criminals" armed with rocket-propelled grenade launchers at around 9:00 pm (1800 GMT), killing them both and destroying their launchers, a statement said on Tuesday.In another Monday night incident, a US Apache helicopter fired a missile at gunmen in Sadr City who were carrying rocket-propelled grenade launchers, killing two, Stover said.
#3: At around 10:00 pm, a group of soldiers were hit by a roadside bomb followed by small arms fire in the area, it added. "Soldiers returned the fire and killed three criminals."Lieutenant-Colonel Steven Stover said US soldiers in an M1 Abrams tank and Bradley fighting vehicle had shot and killed three militants late on Monday after a US route clearance vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb.
#4: A U.S. drone aircraft fired a Hellfire missile at a vehicle loaded with RPGs and AK47s, killing two militants in New Baghdad on Monday, the U.S. military said on Tuesday.
#5: U.S. forces killed two armed militants after they attacked a U.S. observation post in Sadr city, eastern Baghdad, the U.S. military said on Tuesday.
#6: Five people were wounded (2 policemen and 3 civilians) in an IED explosion that targeted a police convoy in Zafaraniyah area southeast Baghdad around 8:00 a.m.
#7: Around 8:00 a.m. gunmen assassinated an employee of Baghdad municipality while he was driving his car in Shoala intersection west Baghdad.
#8: Four people have been killed and 40 wounded in Sadr City since Monday morning, hospital and police officials said.
Iskandariya:#1: But near Iskandariyah, a town 30 miles south of Baghdad, a Shadow reconnaissance drone crashed early Tuesday, local police said. The U.S. military said it was investigating the cause of the crash. Unlike the much larger Predator, the Shadow is an unarmed lightweight craft equipped with a camera capable of producing color video in daylight and thermal images at night, which it conveys back to controllers on the ground.April has been a bad month for the drones, which are routinely used to monitor strife-torn areas of the country. Earlier in the month, two Predators crashed in different parts of Iraq and one was lost in Afghanistan. All are believed to have suffered mechanical failure, since insurgents in both countries lack even rudimentary anti-aircraft defenses.
Basra:#1: The Iraqi army and police clashed with militants in northern Basra, Abdul-Karim Khalaf, the interior ministry spokesman, told Reuters. There were no reports of casualties.
#2: An aide to Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, died on Monday of wounds sustained a week ago in a drive-by shooting in Basra, 550 km (340 miles) southeast of Baghdad, police said.
#3: A Multi-National Force West Marine was killed by an improvised explosive device in Basra, Iraq, April 21. Additionally, one Marine was injured in the attack.Salahudin Prv:#1: Two American soldiers were killed and two others injured in a roadside bomb attack in Salahudin province, north of Baghdad, the U.S. military said on Tuesday. According to a military statement, the attack occurred on Monday when the soldiers' unit was conducting operations in the province. The blast also wounded two members of a local Awakening council group and a civilian interpreter.
Kirkuk:#1: A police source in Kirkuk province said that a gunman was killed and two others were wounded when an insurgents group attacked a checkpoint in al Sirat village, part of Douz district south of Kirkuk city on Monday evening.
#2: A member in the PUK party and three of his guards were injured in an IED explosion that targeted their convoy in Tayaran intersection in downtown Kirkuk city on Monday evening.
Mosul:#1: Four people were wounded when a car bomb detonated near the Mosul province building on Tuesday, police said. "A booby-trapped vehicle parked off the Mosul city hall went off on Tuesday, wounding four civilians and setting four civilian vehicles ablaze," the source, who asked not to be named, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq.
A car bomb killed one man and wounded 10 others when it exploded near a provincial government building in Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.#2: Gunmen killed a lawyer on Monday when they stormed his house in Mosul, police said.Al Anbar Prv:
Ramadi:#1: A suicide bomber driving a car bomb struck a police checkpoint Tuesday in the western Iraqi city of Ramadi. The suicide bomber targeted a police checkpoint in the district of Sufiya, east of Ramadi, killing and injuring several policemen, a local security official told the Voices of Iraq news agency.Twenty people were wounded, including seven women and six policemen when a water-tanker laden with explosives detonated near a police station in Ramadi, 110 km (68 miles) west of Baghdad, said Major-General Tariq al-Thyabi, police commander for Anbar province.Four civilians were killed and 21 people including three policemen were wounded when a suicide truck bomb targeted a joint checkpoint of Iraqi police and Sahwa council (awakening council) in Sofiyah area in the entrance of Ramadi city west of Baghdad around 10:30 a.m.Two Multi-National Force West Marines were killed when a suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated at an entry control point in the vicinity of Ramadi, Iraq, at approximately 7:30 a.m. April 22. The SVBIED attack wounded three other Marines. Two Iraqi Police and 24 local Iraqis were also wounded in the attack.
Afghanistan:#1: An Indian and a Nepalese national working at security training camps in western Afghanistan have been kidnapped, apparently by the Taliban, police and a security firm said Tuesday. Initial investigations found the pair were abducted by Taliban militants late Monday in Herat province, the Afghan interior ministry said. The ministry said both men were Indians, but a US-based company providing security for the Herat training camp where the pair was based identified the missing men as an Indian and a Nepalese national.
#2: A British soldier was killed in the southern Afghan province of Helmand when his vehicle was hit by a suspected mine strike, the British Ministry of Defence said. The British soldier was killed on Monday while his vehicle was providing security to a resupply convoy traveling from the district of Gereshk to Camp Bastion, the main British base in Helmand, the British ministry said.
#3: In a separate incident, four Taliban fighters and three Afghan policemen were killed in a clash in Marouf district of neighbouring Kandahar on Monday night, provincial police officer Mohammad Anwar told a Reuters reporter. The fighting erupted after Taliban attacked a police checkpost, the officer said.
#4: An RAF bomber deliberately destroyed a £10million British spy plane to prevent terrorists accessing its secrets. The unmanned surveillance system, the Reaper UAV, crash landed in Afghanistan during a covert operation. Special forces were dropped in to the crash site by helicopter to recover the plane's top secret data - believed to include a high-intensity camera and computer memory chips. An RAF Harrier jet was then scrambled to blow up the stricken aircraft using a laser-guided bomb in a bid to stop the Taliban from discovering its sensitive data.
NEW REAL NEWS VIDEO: WILL SADR DECLARE OPEN WAR?
The stakes are extremely high. Muqtada al-Sadr and the poor people who live in Sadr City are fed up with the US bombing of their city and are vowing an all out war against the United States military and the Iraq Army. You could cut the tension with a butter knife.
http://therealnews.com/web/index.php?thisdataswitch=0&thisid=1381&thisview=item&renewx=2008-04-22+10%3A27%3A11
About this REAL NEWS VIDEO:
Will Sadr declare open war?
Behind Sadr's warning to the US lies an unavoidable fact: He holds critical cards in Iraq
Tuesday April 22nd, 2008
In this three part sto