CORKSPHERE: Apr 11, 2008

Friday, April 11, 2008

IS WAR WITH IRAN NEXT? WHITE HOUSE UPS ANTI-IRAN RHETORIC

The Bush White House has been upping the rhetoric about going to war with Iran, and a sure-fire way to know the Bush administration is secretly planning on attacking IRAN is to watch FOX NEWS where all day long the anchors and pundits are talking about war with IRAN.

Everyone knows FOX NEWS is the Bush White House propaganda machine and FOX NEWS is living up to their moniker by selling the American public on the need to go to war with IRAN.

General Petraeus also put in his two cents about IRAN.

The table is being set.

War with IRAN is just around the corner.

Editorial comment by BILL CORCORAN, editor of CORKSPHERE.

All the talk is about Iraq, but concern about Iran is mounting

Warren P. Strobel McClatchy Newspapers
last updated: April 10, 2008 07:56:17 PM
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/iraq/story/33306.html

WASHINGTON — The hours of congressional testimony, the speeches and the press conferences this week were all, nominally, about Iraq.

But another, equally explosive question — what to do about Iran — loomed over the presentations by Army Gen. David Petraeus, the American military commander in Iraq, over U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker and over U.S. strategy for the Middle East.

Petraeus and Crocker, arguing that there's been progress in stabilizing Iraq since President Bush ordered a troop build-up there last year, fingered Iran's support for Shiite militias in Iraq, which they called "special groups," as the No. 1 threat to Iraq's security.

"Unchecked, the special groups pose the greatest long-term threat to the viability of a democratic Iraq," Petraeus told the House Armed Services Committee.

Iran also announced this week that it's begun installing 6,000 high-speed centrifuges to enrich uranium that could be used for nuclear weapons. While U.S. officials cast doubt on the claim by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the announcement underlined Tehran's refusal to abide by U.N. Security Council demands that it suspend uranium enrichment.

Concerns also have been growing over the unpredictable consequences of a possible attack on Israel by the Iranian- and Syrian-backed Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah. The militant Shiite Muslim group blames the Israelis for a car bombing in Syria that killed one of the group's longtime leaders, and anti-terrorism experts in the U.S., Israel and Western Europe think that some attempt at retaliation is almost inevitable.

IRAQ'S LOCAL ELECTIONS COULD CHANGE WHO IS IN CHARGE

When the local elections are held in October in Iraq, there could be a major power shift that would put Muqtada al-Sadr, who hates the United States, in charge of Iraq when the full election is held in November.

Observers expect a fierce battle on the streets of Iraqi cities prior to the local elections.

ANALYSIS-Iraq's local elections could reshape power structure

Mariam KarounyReuters North American News Service
Apr 10, 2008 09:04 EST

http://wiredispatch.com/news/?id=122408

BEIRUT, April 10 (Reuters) - Iraq's provincial elections will be the battleground for a fierce power struggle among sectarian and ethnic parties that could redraw the country's political map.

Iraqi officials predict violence will spike ahead of the October elections, which will be seen as a referendum on the performance of mainly Shi'ite and Kurdish parties who took part in the last provincial polls in January 2005.

Major players -- such as the movement of populist Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and Sunni Arab tribal groups -- will be competing for the first time and are expected to make gains at the expense of those now in power.

"New alliances will form, old ones will fall. Everything will change. It will redraw the political map of Iraq," said a senior Shi'ite government official on condition of anonymity.

The results will provide early clues on how parties will fare in parliamentary elections scheduled for 2009 -- polls that will determine if Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki retains power or another leader takes his place.

"These groups and political parties will be doing a major rehearsal for the parliamentary elections," Shi'ite Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi told Reuters last month.

The first salvos in the provincial power struggle were fired late last month, many experts believe, when Maliki launched a crackdown on militias in the southern city of Basra.

His security forces faced stiff resistance from Sadr's Mehdi Army in pitched battles that killed hundreds. The Sadrists accused Maliki of trying to weaken the movement ahead of the elections. Maliki said he was targeting criminal gangs.

Washington says the elections will foster national reconciliation, focusing on how they will boost the participation of minority Sunni Arabs in politics. Sunni Arabs, who boycotted the last local polls along with the Sadrists, are under-represented in areas where they are numerically dominant.

SHI'ITE POWER STRUGGLE
But many fear conflict in the Shi'ite south, where the Sadrists and the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council of Shi'ite leader Abdul Aziz al-Hakim are vying for influence in a region home to most of Iraq's oil production.
The council backs Maliki and controls nearly all nine provincial governments in the south, but there is widespread unhappiness at its performance in delivering services.
While Sadr's movement snubbed the provincial elections in 2005, it took part in parliamentary polls later that year.
His movement and the council formed the backbone of the Shi'ite alliance which won the most seats, and eventually agreed to install Maliki, a member of the smaller Dawa Party, as prime minister. Sadr's movement quit the alliance last year and relations with the council have deteriorated.
"What happened in Basra was just the beginning. We will witness a lot like it," said a Shi'ite MP in the alliance.
Joost Hiltermann, an Iraq expert at the International Crisis Group think tank, said he expected a big shift to take place.
He said existing parties established by former exiles -- both Shi'ite and Sunni Arab -- would lose ground.

LIST OF MEMBERS OF CONGRESS MAKING MONEY OFF THE WAR. THIS WILL SHOCK YOU

Conflict of Interest Redefined: U.S. Politicos Invested in Iraq, Afghanistan

By Abid Aslam, IPS NewsPosted on April 11, 2008, Printed on April 11, 2008

http://www.alternet.org/story/81915/

Members of Congress invested nearly 196 million dollars of their own money in companies that receive hundreds of millions of dollars a day from Pentagon contracts to provide goods and services to U.S. armed forces, say nonpartisan watchdog groups.

Lawmakers charged with overseeing Pentagon contractors hold stock in those very firms, as do vocal critics of the war in Iraq, says the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP).

Senator John Kerry, the Democrat from Massachusetts who staked his 2004 presidential bid in part on his opposition to the war, tops the list of investors. His holdings in firms with Pentagon contracts of at least five million dollars stood at between 28.9 million dollars and 38.2 million dollars as of Dec. 31, 2006. Kerry sits on the Senate foreign relations panel.

Members of Congress are required to report their personal finances every year but only need to state their assets in broad ranges.

Other top investors include Representative Rodney Frelinghuysen, a New Jersey Republican with holdings of 12.1 million - 49.1 million dollars; Rep. Robin Hayes, a North Carolina Republican (9.2 million - 37.1 million dollars); Republican Rep. James Sensenbrenner Jr. of Wisconsin (5.2 million - 7.6 million dollars); and Rep. Jane Harman, a California Democrat (2.7 million - 6.3 million dollars).

Sen. Jay Rockefeller, the Democrat and former governor of West Virginia who chairs the Senate Select Intelligence Committee, invested some 2.0 million dollars in Pentagon contractors, CRP says.

Other panel chiefs who invested in defense firms include Sen. Joseph Lieberman, the Connecticut Independent who presides over the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and Rep. Howard Berman, the California Democrat who heads the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

In all, 151 current members of Congress -- more than one-fourth of the total -- have invested between 78.7 million dollars and 195.5 million dollars in companies that received defense contracts of at least 5.0 million dollars, according to CRP.

These companies received more than 275.6 billion dollars from the government in 2006, or 755 million dollars per day, says budget watchdog group OMB Watch.

The investments yielded lawmakers 15.8 million - 62 million dollars in dividend income, capital gains, royalties, and interest from 2004 through 2006, says CRP.

Not all the firms deal in arms or military equipment. Some make soft drinks or medical supplies and military contracts represent a small fraction of their revenues. Many are leaders in their industries and, as such, feature in the investment portfolios of millions of ordinary people who invest at least a portion of their savings in mutual funds, which in turn hold stocks in up to hundreds of companies.

Click on link to read the full story.

MORE US TROOPS SENT TO AFGHANISTAN AS MIDDLE EAST TENSIONS MOUNT

101st Airborne Moves Into Afghanistan; Troop Levels Reach Record High Since Invasion

JASON STRAZIUSOAP News
Apr 10, 2008 14:39 EST

http://wiredispatch.com/news/?id=122899

The 101st Airborne Division took command of American forces in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday, helping to boost U.S. troop levels in the country to their highest number since the 2001 invasion.

Marching in step, paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne retired the unit's flag during a ceremony under a light rain beside the main runway at Bagram Air Field. Then 101st paratroopers unfurled their flag, officially marking the start of their 15-month tour.

The 101st has 7,200 troops in Afghanistan, several hundred more than the 82nd. Its arrival, coupled with the deployment of some 3,500 Marines to the country's south, has pushed the total number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan to over 32,000, part of a steady rise in force levels as violence has increased over the last two years.

The top American commander in Afghanistan has requested three more brigades — about 7,500 more troops — and the Pentagon has promised that more troops will be sent next year.

Following the 2001 ouster of the Taliban, the U.S. had fewer than 10,000 troops in the country, and no real presence in the volatile south.
"What has become clear as the insurgency has picked up steam over the last year or two is that an increasing number of forces are needed to clear and hold territory," said Seth Jones, an analyst who follows Afghanistan for the RAND Corp. "In fact, I think a significant number more are needed. I would like to see those U.S. numbers come up."
In late 2006, on the five-year anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion, Afghanistan had 40,000 international troops. Today, that number is almost 70,000.

The buildup follows several recent reports warning that Afghanistan risks becoming a failed state because of deteriorating international support, spiraling opium production and the growing insurgency. U.S. intelligence officials have reported that al-Qaida is getting stronger in the Afghan-Pakistan region.

Last year was the deadliest in Afghanistan since 2001. The U.N. says more than 8,000 people died in insurgency-related violence, including more than 1,500 civilians.

Unlike in Iraq, where the U.S. provides the vast majority of troops, a 40-nation alliance in Afghanistan contributes half of the overall military force, though only British, Canadian and Dutch troops engage in heavy fighting.

A suicide car bomber targeting a U.S.-led coalition convoy in the south killed eight civilians and wounded 25 other people Thursday, including three coalition soldiers, officials said.

The 82nd, based at Fort Bragg, N.C., spent 15 months in the country after the Pentagon extended tours an additional three months in Iraq and Afghanistan.

An outgoing U.S. commander said he's seen a significant reduction in Taliban and al-Qaida operations over the last year in the six provinces he commanded along the Afghan-Pakistan border.

Click on link to read full account.

MISSILE HITS LANDMARK BAGHDAD HOTEL. 3 KILLED

The Palestine Hotel in Baghdad is where many of the journalists who are covering the Iraq war stay. Earlier today a missile struck the hotel and early reports are there have been three deaths.

Missile hits landmark Baghdad hotel, kills three

REUTERSReuters North American News Service
Apr 11, 2008 08:33 EST

BAGHDAD, April 11 (Reuters) - A missile ripped a hole through the second floor of Baghdad's Palestine Hotel on Friday, Reuters witnesses said, and police said three civilians were killed and seven injured.

The hotel, across the Tigris River from the Green Zone diplomatic and government compound, houses some international media.
Source: Reuters North American News Service

TENSIONS MOUNT AS TOP AL-SADR AIDE IS MURDERED

The already volatile situation in Iraq just became more serious with the murder of one of rebel cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's top aides.

A curfew has been ordered for Najaf, and all American military personnel have been told to be doubly cautious when they go out on patrol.

There are fears that Iraq is about to erupt into violence like they have never seen before.

(NOTE FROM BILL CORCORAN, EDITOR OF CORKSPERE: KEEP CHECKING THIS SITE FOR THE LATEST NEWS ABOUT THE TENSE SITUATION IN IRAQ)

IRAQ WRAPUP 4-Curfew on Iraq's Najaf as top Sadr aide killed

REUTERSReuters North American News Service
Apr 11, 2008 11:24 EST
By Khaled Farhan

NAJAF, Iraq, April 11 (Reuters) - Iraqi police imposed a curfew to prevent an outbreak of violence in the southern Shi'ite holy city of Najaf on Friday, after a senior aide to anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr was shot dead.

Police set up road blocks and drove through the city with loudspeakers ordering shops closed and people off the streets after Riyadh al-Nuri, a top Sadr aide whose sister is married to the cleric's brother, was gunned down.

Sadr blamed the United States and the U.S.-backed Iraqi government for the slaying.
"This is the hand of the occupier and his successor reaching out traitorously and aggressively against our precious martyr," the cleric said in a statement. "It is my vow that I will not forget this precious blood."

Dozens of angry followers gathered at Shi'ite Islam's main cemetery in the holy city to to bury Riyadh.

In a speech to mourners, Sadr aide Abdul-Hadi al-Mohammedawi quoted the cleric as saying followers should remain "calm and not to drift into strife".

A struggle for power among Shi'ites in the south has involved frequent assassinations over recent years. But the death of someone so close to Sadr risks inflaming those tensions at a time when his militia has been at the centre of an upsurge in violence in Baghdad and throughout the south.

COMPLETE ROUNDUP OF NEWS FROM IRAQ, IRAN AND AFGHANISTAN

The following is a complete roundup of news from Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan with each story sourced and in "Blue" or "Green" so you can get further details by clicking on the color part of the lead.

News
04/11/08 AP: Gunmen kill senior Sadrist official in Iraqi holy city of Najaf
Iraqi officials say gunmen have killed a senior aide to anti-U.S. cleric Moktada al-Sadr near his home in the Shiite holy city of Najaf....He was shot dead as he was driving home from Friday prayers in the adjacent city of Kufa.

04/11/08 Reuters: Airstrikes in Iraq kill 12 in Baghdad, Basra
U.S. and British forces killed 12 gunmen in airstrikes on Iraq’s southern oil-hub of Basra and the eastern Baghdad militia stronghold of Sadr City overnight, military officials said Friday.

04/11/08 UPI: British officer denies snub in Basra
British troops had a "significant" role in the Basra military operation, despite claims Iraqi forces sought U.S. assistance first, a British commander said.

04/11/08 Reuters: Iran cleric rejects Bush's accusations on Iraq
An influential Iranian cleric on Friday rejected President George W. Bush's accusations that Iran was arming and funding Shi'ite militias in Iraq to kill American soldiers, state radio reported.

04/11/08 AP: US shifts focus to Shiite 'special groups'
The top U.S. commander has shifted the focus from al-Qaida to Iranian-backed "special groups" as the main threat to a democratic Iraq — a significant change that reflects both the complexity of the war and its changing nature.

04/10/08 UPI: Three die in Mosul car blasts
Two car bombs targeting checkpoints in Mosul, Iraq, exploded, killing three people and injuring as many as 30 others, U.S. military officials said.

04/10/08 doncasterfreepress: Amputee soldier takes on the slopes
Sergeant Mick Brennan, 28, a former pupil of North Border Comprehensive School in Harworth, lost both of his legs when a car bomb exploded when he was working as part of a bomb disposal squad in Baghdad in 2004.

04/10/08 Reuters: Roadside bomb kills one civilian and wounds 4 others
A roadside bomb targeted a police patrol, killing one civilian and wounding four, including two policemen, in central Baghdad, police said.

04/10/08 Reuters: Roadside bomb wounds 3 policemen, 3 civilians in central Baghdad
A roadside bomb wounded six people, including three policemen, on patrol near al-Shaab National Stadium in central Baghdad, police said.

04/10/08 Reuters: U.S. soldier wounded by IED attack
A U.S. vehicle in Sadr City, eastern Baghdad, was struck by an improvised explosive device on Wednesday night and one U.S. soldier was wounded, the U.S. military said.

04/10/08 Reuters: U.S. Soldiers kill person at checkpoint in Sadr City
U.S. soldiers manning a checkpoint in Sadr City, eastern Baghdad, with Iraqi police killed one person on Wednesday when they were attacked by small-arms fire, the U.S. military said.

04/10/08 Reuters: U.S. soldiers kill 4 people in northwestern Baghdad
U.S. soldiers killed four people in two different locations in northwestern Baghdad after they were attacked with small-arms fire late on Wednesday, the U.S. military said.

04/10/08 Reuters: Gunmen in army uniforms attacked home in Hawija
In the town of Hawija near Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, gunmen wearing army uniforms attacked a house, killing two boys and wounding the mother and father.

04/10/08 Reuters: U.S. soldier wounded by RPG
A U.S. fighting vehicle took a rocket-propelled grenade round in northwestern Baghdad on Wednesday night, wounding one U.S. soldier, the U.S. military said.

04/10/08 AFP: US air strikes kill six in Baghdad Shiiite bastion
Two US air strikes in Baghdad's embattled Sadr City district on Thursday killed six people as fighting raged for a fifth straight day between Shiite militiamen and security forces, officials said.

04/09/08 turnto23: Soldier Injured By IED Awaits Test Results
Army Specialist Matthew McCool is in a military hospital in Palo Alto and is undergoing testing for his brain injury suffered while on tour in Iraq. McCool 's family said he is doing well and they are waiting for a prognosis...

04/09/08 TheNation: Iraq's Ruined Library Soldiers On
Five years ago this month, US troops stood by as looters sacked the Iraq National Library and Archives (INLA)--one of the oldest and most used in the world. In Arab countries the old expression was "Cairo writes, Beirut publishes, and Baghdad reads."

04/09/08 AP: US commander says he will not request fresh troop buildup for Ira
America's war commander in Iraq says he is unlikely to endorse any fresh buildup of troops even if security in the country should deteriorate, a signal that the limits of the U.S. military have been reached for now.

04/09/08 AP: Military strained by suicides, long deployments
U.S. soldiers are committing suicide at record levels, young officers are abandoning their military careers, and the heavy use of forces in Iraq has made it harder for the military to fight conflicts that could arise elsewhere.

04/09/08 theaustralian: Super sniper kills six Brits in Basra
SIX British soldiers serving in Iraq were killed by the same Western-made rifle within three months last year, an inquest was told yesterday.

04/09/08 whnt: Soldier Killed in Green Zone had Huntsville Ties
Scott lived for the Army and lived for running. Sunday, he took a jog with a buddy in Baghdad's Green Zone. But he didn't expect to be attacked. "He had just got off work. Which is normal. He went for a normal run with a friend which is normal," ...

04/09/08 MCT: Iraqi detainees languish uncharged in crowded jails
Barefoot in his yellow jumpsuit, the young detainee's eyes welled up as he described in a shaking voice how he landed in an Iraqi army detention facility on the outskirts of Baghdad.

04/09/08 Reuters: Blockade on Iraq's Sadr City to be lifted Saturday
A two-week old ban on vehicles in Baghdad's eastern Shiite slum of Sadr City will be lifted on Saturday, the Iraqi military said on Wednesday.

04/09/08 MNF: Iraqi Police checkpoint attacked, 3 killed, 33 wounded
An Iraqi Police checkpoint was attacked by two vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices, killing three IPs in Mosul, April 9.

04/09/08 AP: AP photographer granted Iraqi amnesty
An Iraqi judicial committee has dismissed terrorism-related allegations against Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein and ordered him released nearly two years after he was detained by the U.S. military.

04/09/08 Reuters: 23 people killed, 83 injured in Sadr City
23 people were killed and 83 injured in the eastern Baghdad slum of Sadr City on Wednesday, Iraqi security sources said.

04/09/08 Reuters: Gunmen kill civilians and policeman near Kirkuk
Gunmen killed a civilian in Tal al-Hadeed village near Kirkuk, 250 km north of Baghdad, police said...Gunmen killed a policeman and a civilian in Tuz Khurmato, south of Kirkuk, police said.

04/09/08 Reuters: Car bombs kill 3 policemen, 1 civilian in Mosul
Two successive car bombs killed three policemen and a civilian and wounded 20 people including three policemen when they targeted a police patrol in central Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

04/09/08 Reuters: Two bodies found in Baghdad on Wednesday
Two unidentified bodies were found in Baghdad on Wednesday, police said.

04/09/08 AP: Violence kills 16 in Iraq's Sadr City
Iraqi security forces and Shiite militiamen clashed Wednesday in Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood, where attacks killed 16 people on the fifth anniversary of the U.S. capture of the capital.

04/09/08 AFP: Australia offers residence to Iraqis who helped troops
Australia said Wednesday it would offer permanent residence to hundreds of Iraqi employees when Canberra pulls its combat forces out of the strife-torn country later this year.

04/09/08 AP: More assaults reported
A woman who worked as a paramedic for a contractor in Iraq has testified she was raped in February by a soldier and co-worker. The assault on Dawn Leamon came a little more than a month after Congress began investigating other similar assaults.

04/09/08 AFP: Top Qaeda militant arrested in western Iraq
Iraqi police on Wednesday arrested a senior militant and close aide of Al-Qaeda in Iraq chief Abu Ayyub al-Masri in western Iraq's Anbar province, the provincial police chief said.

04/10/08 NPR: Assessing Iraq's Security Forces
The top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, emphasized the growth of Iraq's security forces in his opening statement to a House committee Wednesday. Steve Inskeep talks to Bing West...about assessing the Iraqi security forces.

CASUALTY REPORT: NAMES OF WOUNDED AND HOW THEY ARE DOING

Here is a list of casualties from the war in Iraq with an update on their rehabilitation process. You can click on each name in "BLUE" and get further details.

Casualty Reports:Wellesley's Sean Bannon came home this week after being injured in Iraq. Bannon's legs were shattered two months ago in Iraq.

Spc. Michael Williams, 22, plays a waiting game at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, where he faces surgery to repair the knee he wrecked when he jumped from a truck to take cover during a mission in Iraq. Sent to Iraq in December, he was injured shortly after arrival. "I was in the back of an open truck when we got into some bad stuff, and I didn't want to be a target, so I jumped off," he says. "I just landed wrong. As soon as I hit the ground, I knew I was in trouble." From Baghdad, he was taken to a U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, and then to Walter Reed, where he has been since early January. Because his leg muscles had atrophied, Williams has spent the past three months in physical therapy. He gets around on his own legs now, but will face weeks in a wheelchair, then graduate to crutches and physical therapy after his April 17 operation.

Spc. Anthony Hardy, 27, a lifelong Fairbanksan, had been injured by a roadside bomb in Iraq. Anthony is suffering from multiple broken bones in his chest and shoulders, he awoke and was able to say a few words to his father. He was eventually stationed at Fort Stewart, Ga.,. as part of the 7th Cavalry, 3rd Infantry division before shipping out to Iraq. He and two other soldiers were on patrol in an M113 Armored Personal Carrier — nicknamed “the pillbox” because of its rectangular shape — when the bomb went off in Sadr City.

Rifleman Michael Wilkinson, 18, said: "I was on top cover on a vehicle patrol in Lashkagar when we came to an ANP checkpoint. "He pointed his weapon at us but we gave him a warning and he put it down."At the next checkpoint the ANP was being a lot more aggressive. "He actually took aim at me and I initially opened up on him, shot him and that's when rounds started flying. "A bullet passed through the lightly armoured Land Rover, fragmented and caught the young soldier in both legs."I'm okay," said Rfmn Wilkinson, who is now back on Wearside. "I'll make a full recovery."

Private Simon Peacock, 22, nearly died after he was showered with shards from the rocket propelled grenade as he defended his comrades in war-torn Helmand Province in Afghanistan last year. The shrapnel lodged in his knee, hand, as well as his heart and lungs where it remains after doctors said it was too risky to remove it. The attack happened last year (2007) when the soldier, from South Woodham Ferrers, Essex, was defending other soldiers trying to take a Taleban-held compound in Kajaki.

HERE ARE LATEST US CASULALTIES FROM IRAQ: WEB SITES HAVE BEEN MALICIOUSLY ATTACKED

ANTI-WAR WEBSITES ARE BEING HACKED

This blogger uses a number of news websites which unlike the American press tell the truth about what is happening in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Earlier today, we started experiencing problems logging on to one news site and as of now it is still down.

Another site we use is the Iraq Casualties website which gives information on US troops killed in action in Iraq and Afghanistan or wounded.

We just tried to access the site and this is the message they are posting:

Special Note: Due to a malicious attack on our web server we have removed most of the content from this site. The attack caused users to be redirected to random sites that have no affiliation with iCasualties. After a good deal of effort we think that we have identified problem and hope that we will soon return the site back to it's proper state. Please accept our sincerest apologies for any inconvenience this has caused you. Michael White iCasualties.org

NEW VIDEO: ANGELINA JOLIE TALKS ABOUT IRAQI CHILDREN REFUGEES BEFORE COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS

Actress Angelina Jolie appeared on a panel earlier this week for the Council on Foreign Relations to discuss the plight of Iraqi refugees, and in particular the Iraqi children who have been left orphaned by the war.

This is a brand new video and was just released Thursday, April 10, 2008

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZTxMMdYPNA

HOW COME BUSH AND PETRAEUS NEVER MENTIONED THIS CRISIS IN BAGHDAD?

President Bush and General Petraeus just spent the past few days painting a rosy pictures of how well things are going in Baghdad.

But are they?

Not at all according to the UN Humanitarian organization which oversees critical humanitarian problems in various parts of the world.

Here is what they found in Baghdad.

Source: United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs - Integrated Regional Information Networks

Date: 10 Apr 2008

Iraq: "Acute shortages" in clash-hit Baghdad suburbs

BAGHDAD, 10 April 2008 (IRIN) - A humanitarian crisis is looming in two sprawling Shia suburbs in Baghdad, as clashes continue between government forces (backed by US soldiers) and Shia militants, members of parliament and residents said on 10 April.

"Sadr City and Shula are in a very tragic humanitarian situation as residents are suffering acute shortages of food and medicines," Iraq's parliamentary committee on human rights said in a statement.

"Just as we demand that everyone respect Iraq's constitution and laws and the government's authority to impose law and order, so we also demand that the government respect human rights and not neglect the humanitarian side," said committee member Amer Thamir, a MP from the eastern from Baghdad's eastern constituency of Mashtal, in the statement.

He said the prices of food, medicines and services in the two suburbs had soared and that the government "must offer humanitarian aid and facilitate the distribution of food and medicines to all people".

Fighting in the suburbs erupted on 25 March and has exacerbated the plight of locals, many of whom are poor people from southern Iraq who came to Baghdad to find jobs.

Father-of-five Khalil Murtadha Amer was paying a visit to his parents' house in Sadr City when the fighting started: "I can't leave the neighbourhood on foot as my wife can't walk more than 200-300 metres due to surgery she had a few months ago, and we are running out of food."
Bread prices have tripled, he said.

He said the hospitals had been swamped with people hurt in the clashes, and were now offering limited services: they had, for example, stopped receiving pregnant women.

Local midwives had doubled their fees to nearly US$200 per birth.

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