FOX News' Shepard Smith was boasting about how Friday was the first day in a long, long time that there was no violence in Baghdad. It appears as though Shepard Smith and FOX News spoke too soon. Smith went on to say the only thing falling in Baghadad on Friday was snow.
Hey Shep: You spoke too soon!
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/EMAE-7ARRXC?OpenDocument&rc=3&cc=irq
Factbox - Security developments in Iraq, 11 Jan 2008
Jan 11 (Reuters) - Following are security developments in Iraq at 2000 GMT on Friday.
* indicates new or updated item
* BAGHDAD - A suicide car bomb blew up outside a bakery in New Baghdad district in eastern Baghdad, killing two people and wounding eight others, police said.
* BAGHDAD - Three bodies were found dumped across Baghdad on Friday, police said.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
HEY SHEP: YOU SPOKE TOO SOON!
NEW BAGHDAD EMBASSY IS A FIRE RISK
Baghdad Embassy Is Called A Fire Risk'Serious' Problems Were Ignored, Says State Dept. Official
By Glenn KesslerWashington Post Staff WriterSaturday, January 12, 2008; A01
The firefighting system in the massive $736 million embassy complex in Baghdad has potential safety problems that top U.S. officials dismissed in their rush to declare construction largely completed by the end of last year, according to internal State Department documents, e-mails and interviews.
Some officials assert that in the push to complete the long-delayed project, potentially life-threatening problems have been left untouched. "This is serious enough to get someone killed," said a State Department official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he feared retaliation. "The fire systems are the tip of the iceberg. That is the most visible. But no one has ever inspected the electrical system, the power plant" and other parts of the embassy complex, which will house more than 1,000 people and is vulnerable to mortar attacks.
Other sources involved in the project, also requesting anonymity, insist that disputes involve technical paperwork issues, largely because the contractor had never built an embassy and did not realize that under State Department rules it needed approval for substituting certain materials. Now, much of that work needs to be reexamined and checked, they said, substantially delaying the project's completion.
The finger-pointing over fire safety is a microcosm of the suspicion that hangs over the troubled project, which is built on acreage almost four times the size of the Pentagon. Originally expected to be completed by July 1, 2007, at a cost of $592 million, the largest U.S. diplomatic mission in the world has been plagued by poor planning, shoddy workmanship and design changes that have added to the cost. The Justice Department is conducting a criminal investigation of the contract and related subcontracts, sources said.
THE FLIP SIDE OF THE "SURGE" COIN
Saddam Redux: U.S. Allies Itself with Sunni Strongmen
By Basil Adas, Gulf News. Posted January 11, 2008.
Sunni awakening has decreased attacks on U.S. troops, but increased Iraqis' suffering.
http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/73365/
The Sunni "awakening" groups formed by American forces to fight Al Qaida have successfully decreased attacks on Iraqi security forces and US troops, but have not eased the fears of citizens, according to residents.
"Abu Riyad, the awakening leader in our district, is stronger than the Americans, Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki. He orders, arrests and releases [people], pardons and punishes and this situation is no different from when the Al Adhimiya district was under Al Qaida's control," Najeel Ahmad, a resident of Al Adhimiya, told Gulf News.
Gunmen
"The residents of the district have many fears and concerns. The decision to arrest and kill residents is done by Riyadh, so the situation is still bad," he added.
Abu Riyadh, Abu Abed, Abu Nour and Abu Mashriq are all leaders of Sunni "awakening" groups.
It has become very normal, in many Sunni neighbourhoods in Baghdad, to see hundreds of gunmen inspecting visitors, strangers and even residents, locals say.
Haja Um Zuhair told Gulf News: "I am from Al America and every time I go shopping, my basket is subject to inspection. On every street are members affiliated to awakening leader Abu Abed.
"The reality has not changed for the better, raids and shootings are still happening. I can say that the situation has improved in terms of not targeting American or Iraqi forces, but people are still living in fear," she added.
Locals say that if someone wants to visit another district, he must inform the leader in his district, who will contact his counterpart in the other district.
One resident, Munaf Al Jabori, described the system. "I live in Al Saydia and in order to visit Al America district I have to inform Abu Noor, the leader in Al Saydia, who will contact Abu Abed, the leader in Al America, then Abu Nour gives me a paper to enter Al America and this will keep me safe. I wonder where the government and law are?"
The suffering of Sunni residents does not end there. Haji Abu Ragheed said: "The district's leader sent his followers to ask my son to join them, otherwise he will be barred from the district. Anyone who refuses to join the awakening groups will be killed, arrested and charged with cooperating with Al Qaida."
Muthefer Al Esawi, a political researcher, told Gulf News: "The American army financed and trained warlords in Sunni neighbourhoods to fight Al Qaida. I think Americans did not consider Iraqis' feelings."
JUDGE IN SF HELPS VETS GET BENEFITS
Judge in San Francisco Allows Suit Charging VA Denies Some Vets Health Care
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/011108S.shtml
Thanks to Sharin Bowers for the tip on this article.
By Bob Egelko
The San Francisco Chronicle
Friday 11 January 2008
Veterans' advocates can proceed with a lawsuit claiming that the federal government's health care system for troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan illegally denies care and benefits, a federal judge in San Francisco ruled Thursday.
U.S. District Judge Samuel Conti, a conservative jurist and a World War II veteran, rejected Bush administration arguments that civil courts have no authority over the Department of Veterans Affairs' medical decisions or how it handles grievances and claims.
If the plaintiffs can prove their allegations, Conti said, they would show that "thousands of veterans, if not more, are suffering grievous injuries as the result of their inability to procure desperately needed and obviously deserved health care."
He said federal courts are competent to decide whether those injuries were caused by flaws in the health care system and the VA's grievance procedures.
Conti did not rule on the adequacy of the treatment system, which will be addressed in future proceedings. But he decided one disputed issue, finding that veterans are legally entitled to two years of health care after leaving the service. The government had argued that it was required to provide only as much care as the VA's budget allowed in a given year.
Friday, January 11, 2008
U.S. DEATHS REACH 3,921
US military deaths in Iraq at 3,921
By The Associated Press
Thu Jan 10, 8:44 PM ET
As of Thursday, Jan. 10, 2008, at least 3,921 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes eight military civilians. At least 3,183 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers.
The AP count is nine higher than the Defense Department's tally, last updated Thursday at 10 a.m. EST.
The British military has reported 174 deaths; Italy, 33; Ukraine, 18; Poland, 21; Bulgaria, 13; Spain, 11; Denmark, seven; El Salvador, five; Slovakia, four; Latvia, three; Estonia, Netherlands, Thailand, Romania, two each; and Australia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, South Korea, one death each.
___
Thursday, January 10, 2008
THE LAST FULL MEASURE OF DEVOTION
For confirmation: http://icasualties.org/oif/
I believe these soldiers deserve the last full measure of devotion and their sacrifice to the United States of America should be recognized by the mainstream media in the United States.
Bill Corcoran,host of this blog.
U.S. Deaths Confirmed By The DoD: 3915
Reported U.S. Deaths Pending DoD Confirmation: 6
Total 3921
DoD Confirmation List
Latest Coalition Fatality: Jan 09, 2008
01/10/08 DoD Identifies Army Casualties (3 of 3)
Sgt. David J. Hart, 22, of Lake View Terrace, Calif...died in Balad....died Jan. 9 of wounds sustained during combat operations in Samarra, Iraq...They were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team...
01/10/08 DoD Identifies Army Casualties (2 of 3)
Pfc. Ivan E. Merlo, 19, of San Marcos, Calif., who died in Samarra...died Jan. 9 of wounds sustained during combat operations in Samarra, Iraq...They were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team...
01/10/08 DoD Identifies Army Casualties (1 of 3)
Pfc. Phillip J. Pannier, 20, of Washburn, Ill., who died in Samarra...died Jan. 9 of wounds sustained during combat operations in Samarra, Iraq...They were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team...
U.S. WARPLANES POUND BAGHDAD. 9 U.S. SOLDIERS KILLED. 151 THOUSAND IRAQI CIVILIANS KILLED IN FIRST THREE YEARS SINCE U.S. INVADED AND OCCUPIED IRAQ
http://tinyurl.com/2tgbav
By Peter Graff1 hour, 24 minutes ago
U.S. warplanes launched their biggest air strike in Iraq since at least 2006 on Thursday, bombarding date palm groves on Baghdad's southern outskirts with more than 40,000 pounds of bombs in a matter of minutes.
Two B-1 bombers and four F-16 fighter jets struck more than 40 al Qaeda targets in three zones of Arab Jabour, a lush district just south of the capital that has become a haven for fighters driven out of other areas.
"Thirty-eight bombs were dropped within the first 10 minutes, with a total tonnage of 40,000 pounds," the military said in a statement. "Each bomber passed over twice and the F-16s followed to complete the set."
The attack formed part of Operation Phantom Phoenix, a major countrywide offensive against al Qaeda guerrillas that U.S. forces announced this week.
TOLL ON US SOLDIERS
The offensive has taken its toll on American forces as well. After a month in which the rate of U.S.-led coalition deaths fell to fewer than one per day for the first time since 2004, nine American soldiers were killed in 48 hours.
Gates said the deaths were a "stark reminder of the work that remains to be done."
Six American soldiers were killed on Wednesday by an explosion in a booby-trapped house in Diyala province, and three others were killed on Tuesday in Salahuddin province, two northern areas where U.S. forces say al Qaeda has regrouped.
The United Nations' World Health Organization released figures on Wednesday estimating about 151,000 Iraqi civilians had died violently in Iraq in the war's first three years, with the exact figure falling between 104,000 and 223,000.
The WHO figure, based on a survey of 10,000 Iraqi households, does not include deaths after June 2006. The 12 months that followed were the deadliest year of the war.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
WHAT CANDIDATE FOR POTUS WOULD STOP THIS?
We have now gone through a caucus and a primary and we are wondering who you think might best stop what is described in the story below? The presidential field is narrowing and according to all exit polling getting out of Iraq is still uppermost on the minds of voters. We invite your comments. Just click on "comments" at the end of the story below and tell us who you think would do the best job of getting us out Iraq and why you think they are better than anyone else running for President of the United States.
US military deaths in Iraq at 3,911
By The Associated Press Tue Jan 8, 9:05 PM ET
As of Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2008, at least 3,911 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes eight military civilians. At least 3,183 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers.
The AP count is the same as the Defense Department's tally, last updated Tuesday at 10 a.m. EST.
The British military has reported 174 deaths; Italy, 33; Ukraine, 18; Poland, 21; Bulgaria, 13; Spain, 11; Denmark, seven; El Salvador, five; Slovakia, four; Latvia, three; Estonia, Netherlands, Thailand, Romania, two each; and Australia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, South Korea, one death each.
The latest identifications reported by the military:
• Army Spc. James D. Gudridge, 20, Carthage, N.Y.; died Sunday in Baghdad after his vehicle struck an explosive; assigned to the 4th Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.
• Army Pfc. Timothy R. Hanson, 23, Kenosha, Wis.; died Monday in Salmon Pak of wounds from small-arms fire; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Benning, Ga.
___
On the Net:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
MORE VIOLENCE HITS IRAQ
While the mainstream focuses 24/7 on the political race for POTUS, there is a growing concern in Iraq that violence is on the upswing. Late Tuesday, the following took place in Iraq:
5 killed in fresh Iraq violence Wed, 09 Jan 2008 03:51:22
At least five people have been killed and eight wounded in a series of separate attacks in Iraq, police and officials have announced. The head of the municipality of Baghdad's neighborhood of Yarmouk was killed when a bomb attached to his car exploded on Tuesday, a police officer said Tuesday on condition of anonymity. To the south, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives at a checkpoint manned by police special forces in the Madain area, about 25 kilometers southeast of Baghdad, killing two policemen and wounding eight others, police said. In another incident also on Tuesday in the capital, a police colonel was shot dead by unidentified attackers in the Zafaraniyah neighborhood, an interior ministry official said. In the western Mansour district, a tax department official was shot dead by gunmen as he left his home.
IRAQ ERUPTS IN VIOLENCE. MAINSTREAM MEDIA REMAINS MUM
All across Iraq violence has erupted and yet the mainstream media in the United States remains mum on what is taking place in Iraq. Here is just a partial list of what took place in Iraq on Tuesday, January 8, 2008.
Posted by Bill Corcoran, host of CORKSPHERE.
http://warnewstoday.blogspot.com/
Security incidents:Baghdad:#1: The same day, gunmen kidnapped eight Awakening members at a checkpoint in Shaab, a mainly-Shiite neighbourhood in northeastern Baghdad where Awakening members have taken control of security, an Iraqi official said. "Gunmen in five cars arrived in Shaab neighbourhood on Monday evening and abducted eight Shiite Awakening members who were controlling a checkpoint," the interior ministry official said on Tuesday.
#2: Ismael Abbas, the Awakening leader in Shaab, was shot dead in the street by gunmen using silencers, he added.
#3: In other violence in the capital on Tuesday, a police colonel was shot dead by unknown attackers in the mainly-Shiite Zafaraniyah neighbourhood in southeastern Baghdad, an interior ministry official said.Around 7 a.m., gunmen assassinated an officer of the ministry of interior “ Mohammad Aziz Al-Gatia in his car in Zafrania neighborhood ( east Baghdad)
#4: In the western Mansour neighbourhood, a tax department official was shot dead by gunmen as he left his home.Gunmen using weapons with silencers killed the deputy manager of the Mansour district tax office in western Baghdad, police said.
#5: A roadside bomb killed the chief of the Yarmouk District Council, Salih Mansour Hussein, and wounded two of his bodyguards in the Yarmouk district of western Baghdad, police said.
#6: Around 3 p.m., two mortars hit Medain district ( south of Baghdad ) injuring 2 people.
#7: Around 3 .30 p.m., a roadside bomb targeted an American patrol at Rashid camp neighborhood ( south east Baghdad) . No casualties reported.
#8: Police found 5 unidentified dead bodies in the following neighborhood in Baghdad: ( 3 ) dead bodies were found in west Baghdad ( Karkh bank ) ; 1 in Doura , 1 in Bayaa and Amil . While ( 2 ) were found in east Baghdad ( Risafa bank) ; 1 in Ubaidi and 1 in Fudhailiyah.Diyala Prv:#1: U.S. and Iraqi forces launched a major operation Tuesday to strike against al-Qaida in Iraq and other extremists, a top U.S. commander in Iraq said in a statement. The location for the division and brigade-level operation, dubbed Phantom Phoenix, was not announced. But extremists have been pushed out of their former stronghold in Anbar province west of Baghdad to the east and north and appear to be concentrated in the province of Diyala to the northeast of the capital.#2: A civilian was injured when unknown armed men opened fire on him in al-Saadiya region in Khaniqeen district, northeast of Baaquba," the source continued.Muqdadiya:#1: An explosive device went off near a house in Muqdadiya, northeast of Baaquba, injuring a woman," the source, who requested anonymity, told the independent news agency Voices of IraqLatifiya:#1: Gunmen killed a neighbourhood patrol volunteer at a checkpoint in Latifiya, 40 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.Madaen:#1: A suicide bomber wearing an explosives vest attacked a police checkpoint, killing one policeman and wounding another along with two civilians in Madaen, 45 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.Hilla:#1: Gunmen shot and wounded a former army officer on Monday south of Hilla, 100 km (60 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.Kut:#1: Police said they had killed a lawyer with stray bullets when they returned fire after being shot at in northern Kut, 170 km (100 miles) southeast of Baghdad.Salman Pak:#1: At Salman Pak, around 25 kilometres (16 miles) southeast of Baghdad, two policemen were killed and eight people, four of them police, were wounded when a suicide bomber attacked a security checkpoint, police said. The male bomber disguised himself in the all-covering abaya garment worn by women, a police official said.Hawija:#1: Three people of the same family were killed in an armed attack in the district of al-Huweija, southwest of Kirkuk, on Tuesday, an official security source in Kirkuk police said."Unidentified gunmen opened fire on a civilian vehicle carrying a man, his wife and his son, who is a soldier in the Iraqi army, in al-Hueweija, (70 km) southwest of Kirkuk, killing them instantly," the source, who refused to be named, told the independent news agency Voices of IraqMosul:#1: Two bodies were found in eastern Mosul, one of them handcuffed and blindfolded, police said.#2: A roadside bomb went off on al-Shura district road, south of Mosul, killing a civilian and causing severe material damage to his car," the source, who asked to be unnamed, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq#3: the same source said, "police patrols found this afternoon three bullets-riddled bodies: one in al-Qahera neighborhood in northern Mosul, while the two remaining bodies were found in al-Mulawatha and al-Sahagi regions in western Mosul."Sulaimaniya:#1: Police forces found two bodies of workers in a house under construction west of Sulaimaniya, a source from the Sulaimaniya emergency police department said on Tuesday."A citizen informed the police of the two bodies in a house under construction in Kani Kourda west of Sulaimaniya," Lieutenant Umed Mohammad Ahmad told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq
TWIN BOMBINGS IN BAGHAD. VIOLENCE ESCALATES
There is increased concern that violence is escalating in Iraq. Although the media in the United States is not reporting, twin bombs were set off in Baghdad Monday killing 14 and injuring scores of others. Also not reported by the mainstream media in the United States is the death of two U.S. soldiers in Iraq on Sunday. Meanwhile, there has been little or no progress with the Iraqi government and most of Iraq is still suffering from lack of electricity and water. Posted Tuesday, January 7 at 5 AM CST by Bill Corcoran, blog host.
Twin suicide bomb kills 14, including Baghdad anti-Qaida leader
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-01/08/content_7381383.htm
Special report: Tension escalates in Iraq
BAGHDAD, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- Up to 14 people were killed, including an anti-Qaida leader, in a twin suicide bombing in a northern Baghdad neighborhood on Monday, raising fears of a return to violence after a period of a relative lull in the past months.
One suicide bomber detonated a vest packed with explosives at the entrance of the office of the Sunni Endowment, a government agency that looks after Sunni mosques and shrines, at about 11a.m. (0800 GMT) in Baghdad's northern neighborhood of Adhamiyah, an Interior Ministry source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
MORE PROOF THE "SURGE" IS NOT WORKING
Iraq death rate belies US claims of success
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article3315022.ece
By Kim Sengupta
Published: 07 January 2008
The death rate in Iraq in the past 12 months has been the second highest in any year since the invasion, according to figures that appear to contradict American claims that the troop "surge" has dramatically reduced the level of violence across the country.
The research comes from Iraq Body Count (IBC), which has extensive experience of working in the country, and concludes that deaths outside Baghdad actually rose until September.
However, the group also concludes that the number of those killed in Baghdad, where the majority of American reinforcements for surge operations were deployed, has fallen significantly during the year.
IBC compiles its data from official sources, including the Pentagon, and found that between 22,586 and 24,159 civilian deaths were documented for 2007, with the vast majority of those killed between January and August.
The most lethal violence took place in Nineva, where the number of deaths rose by 143 per cent. Baghdad on the other hand saw a decline of around 39 per cent after a drastic fall in numbers of deaths in the last three months of the year.
The first eight months of 2007 also saw the highest number of car-bombings in the Iraq. The report claims that last year there were 20 explosive devices that killed more than 50 civilians, compared with 12 bombings in 2006.
The number of civilians killed during operations involving US forces in the past 12 months also rose, from between 544 and 623 in 2006 to between 868 and 1,326 in 2007. The report claims that most of these casualties were linked to air strikes, in which 88 children were reported to have died.
Around 900 US and 47 British troops have also been killed in the past year.
Monday, January 7, 2008
BOMB FOUR CHURCHES IN IRAQ
Violence continues to escalate in Iraq as four churches were bombed in the city of Mosul. The mainstream media in the United States no longer reports on events on the ground despite the fact there are still 160,000 U.S. troops deployed to Iraq.
Posted Monday, January 7 by Bill Corcoran, host of "Corksphere."
Bomb attacks target four churches in N Iraq
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-01/06/content_7375202.htm
www.chinaview.cn 2008-01-06 23:17:44
Special report: Tension escalates in Iraq
MOSUL, Iraq, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Insurgent groups attacked on Sunday four churches for Iraqi Christian minority in the city of Mosul, the capital of Nineveh province, a provincial police source said.
A car bomb parked near the Maryam al-Adhra' Church northeastern of Mosul detonated, wounding four people and damaging parts of the building, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
Another booby-trapped car parked near the Mar Yousif Church in the Muhandiseen neighborhood in northern the city detonated and damaged outer fence and parts of the church, the source said.
In western Mosul, an explosive charge went off in a monastery in the Mosul al-Jadida neighborhood, damaging part of the deserted building without human casualty, he said.
A fourth bomb attack took place in the Meskantah Church in the Khazraj neighborhood in central the city, causing damages in the building, added the source.
The attacks against the Christian minority came as part of the religious and sectarian violence that ravaged the Iraqi cities, including Mosul, some 400 km north of Baghdad.
BOMBER KILLS 11 IN BAGHDAD
All we hear about on television is how well the "surge" is doing in Baghdad, but look what took place Sunday in Baghdad. There were also three other incidents of suicide bombs going off in Baghdad. The American media continues to LIE to the American public about conditions in Baghdad.
Posted by Bill Corcoran, host of of "Corksphere."
Bomber Kills 11 at Iraqi Army Festival
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/IRAQ?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2008-01-06-09-03-47
By BRADLEY BROOKS Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD (AP) -- Three Iraqi soldiers threw themselves on a suicide attacker wearing an explosives vest at an Army Day celebration Sunday - an act of heroism the U.S. said likely prevented many more deaths. Iraqi police said at least 11 people were killed in the blast, the deadliest in a series of bombings in Baghdad.
One of the attacks in the capital killed an American soldier - one of two U.S. deaths announced on Sunday.
Shortly before the bomber struck the Army Day festivities, about two dozen Iraqi soldiers were standing outside the offices of a local non-governmental agency pushing for unity in Iraq. The troops, their AK-47 rifles raised in the air, chanted pro-army slogans and a common anti-insurgent taunt: "Where are the terrorists today?"
Associated Press photographer Hadi Mizban was about five yards away from the suicide attacker when he blew himself up on a narrow street in the central Karradah area.
"The blast happened as civilians were giving flowers to soldiers and sticking them in the muzzles of their guns," recalled Mizban, an Iraqi national. "It was a jubilant scene."
Afterward, he said, the street was littered with bodies, weapons and shoes. Dazed soldiers and policemen carried their bloodied colleagues to nearby pickup trucks that whisked them to a hospital.
AP reports several other violent incidents in Baghdad:
In eastern Baghdad a parked car bomb exploded and four mortars landed near a bus terminal, killing one civilian, police said.
In northeastern Baghdad, a parked car bomb exploded outside a popular restaurant, killing one policeman and two civilians, police said. AFP gives the death toll from this incident as four, and gives further details from an eye witness report.
Earlier Sunday, a Shiite tribal sheik who was trying to set up a U.S.-backed armed group to combat militias was shot to death in Shaab, one of Baghdad's most dangerous neighborhoods and a center for outlaw Shiite fighters, a police officer said on condition of anonymity. The attack was confirmed by a resident of the neighborhood who asked not to be named saying he feared reprisal.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
2 U.S. SOLDIERS KILLED FOR BEATING PREGNANT IRAQI WOMAN
This story is getting widespread attention all across the Middle East. It is stories like this which I will continue to provide readers of my blog in my never ending desire to present the true picture of what is taking place in Iraq and not the Bush White House version of how things are going on the ground in Iraq
http://tinyurl.com/3aze9d
The Muslim Scholars Association claims that the Iraq soldier who attacked U.S. forces on Dec. 26 did so because they were beating a pregnant woman. (And remember, you read it here first - we reported on this claim two days before the incident was reported at all in the U.S. corporate media. The Muslim Scholars Association is a leading Sunni resistance organization. Regardless of whether this is true, it's important to know that the claim has been widely reported in Arabic language media in Iraq and many people may believe it. I also note that the name of the Iraqi soldier, Qaisar Saadi al-Jubory, is consistent with the name given in the earlier reports and has not been reported in the West, as far as I know. -- C)
CBS REPORTS ON IRAQI WOMEN IN JAIL
There are many atrocities taking place in Iraq which never make it to the mainstream media, however CBS News did present this riveting report on the Iraqi women who have been jailed simply because their husbands are suspected of being terrorists. The accompanying video is worth looking at as another legacy of the Bush administration and how it has mismanaged the Iraq war.
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=a89_1198381339
Saturday, January 5, 2008
BREAKING NEWS FROM BAGHDAD
Iraqi soldier kills 2 American troops
http://www.iraq.net/index.php
By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, Associated Press Writer 47 minutes ago
BAGHDAD - An Iraqi soldier allegedly shot dead two American troops while they were patrolling together north of the capital, the U.S. military and an Iraqi official said Saturday. The Iraqi official said the suspect has links to militant groups.
Three other U.S. soldiers and a civilian interpreter were wounded in the Dec. 26 attack, the military said in a statement. The shooting occurred as American and Iraqi soldiers were trying to establish a combat outpost in Ninevah province in northern Iraq.
According to Brig. Mutaa Habib Jassim al-Khazrachi, commander of the Iraqi army's 2nd Division, an initial investigation has indicated that the Iraqi soldier has links to local militant groups.
Seven wounded as bomb explodes in Baghdad
http://tinyurl.com/25zhxp
Baghdad - Voices of Iraq
Saturday , 05 /01 /2008 Time 8:26:39
Baghdad, Jan 5, (VOI)- At least seven people were wounded on Saturday afternoon as a bomb stashed in a minibus exploded, a police source said.The source told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq the blast took place "on the road linking al-Doura neighborhood to Baghdad al-Jadidah in southeastern Baghdad."Iraqi "security forces immediately cordoned off the area and banned civilians from coming close to the blast location," he said.SK
12 unknown bodies found in Baghdad
http://tinyurl.com/ywpy44
Baghdad - Voices of Iraq
Saturday , 05 /01 /2008 Time 8:26:39
Baghdad, Jan 5, (VOI)- Iraqi police patrols on Saturday found 12 unknown bodies dumped in different parts of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, a police source said."Police patrols found 12 unidentified bodies in different areas of Baghdad, most of them were found in Baghdad's western side (al-Karkh)," the source told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI)."Nine corpses were found in different neighborhoods of al-Karkh: six in al-Doura, two in al-Aamel and one in al-Saydiya," he explained."Three more bodies were found in neighborhoods of Zayounah, al-Jaderiyah and Baghdad al-Jadidah in Rasafa, eastern side of Baghdad," the source added."Most of the bodies found bore signs of gunshot wounds to different parts of the body, mainly to the head," he noted.SK
RARE FOOTAGE INSIDE AN IRAQI PRISON FOR WOMEN
This video is something you are never going to see on any American news outlet. It is a rare look inside of an Iraqi prison for women. Listen to the narrative as the commentator talks about the number of Iraqis who have been put in prison since the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003. Shame on the media in the United States for not telling this story.
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=f62_1199319054
IRAQI'S SELL CHILDREN TO EAT
Iraqis resort to selling children
By
Afif Sarhan in Baghdad
http://tinyurl.com/3b4w7a
Thanks to Lori Price and CLG http://www.legitgov.org/ for this news tip.
Abu Muhammad, a Baghdad resident, found it difficult to let go of his daughter's hand but he had already convinced himself that selling her to a family outside Iraq would provide her with a better future.
"The war disgraced my family. I lost relatives including my wife among thousands of victims of sectarian violence and was forced to sell my daughter to give my other children something to eat," he told Al Jazeera.
In 2006, Abu Muhammad and his family were forced to leave their home in Adhamiya, a district of Baghdad, after militia fighting claimed the streets in his once tranquil neighbourhood.
They began living in a makeshift refugee camp on the outskirts of Baghdad, but he soon lost his job and the children, unable to make the daily trek, quit school.
"There wasn't enough money to spend on books, clothes and transport," he said. His daughter, Fatima, the youngest of four children, began to show signs of malnourishment and a local medic said she had become anaemic.
Friday, January 4, 2008
HERE IS WHAT HAPPENED IN IRAQ ON FRIDAY
The security incidents in Iraq continue at a brisk pace, but the mainstream media in the United States has decided the Iraq war is not worth covering even though there are still 160,000 young Americans deployed to Iraq.
The story of what happened to one young female soldier was told on Friday in the Washington Post and is a tragic reminder of what is taking place in Iraq but pathetically finds only one news outlet in the United States. Here is the link to a story you MUST read: http://tinyurl.com/2zdp36
Security incidents in Baghdad and around Iraq on Friday, January 4, 2003
http://warnewstoday.blogspot.com/
Baghdad:#1: A U.S. helicopter missile killed one insurgent and wounded two others, including another insurgent, when it attacked a house in a rural area just south of Baghdad, the U.S. military said. Five suspected insurgents were detained.
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#2: Around 8.30 a.m., a roadside bomb targeted an American patrol at Shoala high way ( north west Baghdad). No casualties reported.
.#3: Around 3 p.m., a roadside bomb targeted an American patrol at Al-Mawal intersection at Palestine street .No casualties reported ,but damage to one of the vehicles , police said.
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Six civilians were injured on Friday when an improvised explosive device went off targeting a U.S. vehicle patrol in eastern Baghdad, a source from the interior ministry said." An explosive charge was detonated this afternoon in the Palestine street region in eastern Baghdad, targeting a U.S. vehicle patrol," the source told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI)." The explosion injured six civilians and set ablaze a U.S. vehicle," he added.
.#4: Police found two unidentified dead bodies in the following neighborhoods in Baghdad: One was found in Mahmoudiyah in southern Baghdad ( Karkh bank ) while the second dead body was found in Suleikh in northern Baghdad ( Risafa bank ) .Diyala Prv:#1: The US military, meanwhile, denied on Friday that its forces had killed three civilians in Diyala the previous day, as reported by Iraqi officials. Iraqi army Major Ziad al-Ani said two people died in the town of Al-Ghalibiyah, just west of Baquba, when a US patrol shot up their vehicle as it entered the main street from a side road while the convoy was passing.In another incident, US forces killed a civilian crossing the street near a gas factory in the centre of Baquba, said police captain Muhannad al-Bawi. "There were no conventional forces in the area. These reports appear to be false", said Lieutenant Stephen Bomar, of Task Force Iron in Warhorse camp, near Baquba.Muqdadiya:#1: U.S. forces killed two insurgents just north of the town of Muqdadiya, 90 km (55 miles) northeast of Baghdad, the U.S. military said. The insurgents were killed as part of an operation targeting al Qaeda militants in the area.Jurf al-Sakhar:#1: Gunmen killed a civilian in a drive-by shooting in the town of Jurf al-Sakhar, 85 km (55 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.
Najaf:
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#1: At 4.30 a.m. of Thursday, a joint forces raided the Rahma neighborhood in Najaf ( 5 km to the north of Najaf city ) with air cover inuring four people and arresting 6 others besides two of the forth injured ones, a member of Sadrists office in Najaf said .While the American army sent us this report “ In an Iraqi Army-led operation, nine suspected militants were detained in Najaf on 3 January. During the operation, ground forces were attacked with small arms fire and a grenade. Ground forces responded in self defense, wounding two, who were treated on site and then transported to a medical facility.
Amara:
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#1: Two policemen were killed on Friday in an oil tank explosion at a checkpoint in northern Amara, a police source said. "A booby-trapped oil tank went off at a checkpoint in northern Amara, killing two policemen and injuring others," the source, who preferred to remain unnamed, told the independent news agency Voices of IraqBasra:#1: A British military spokesman said no injuries were reported after a missile attack against Iraq's Basra Airport, which British forces use as a military base. The spokesman said in a statement Friday that no injuries or material losses were sustained when unknown militants launched a missile attack against the base in southern Iraq, KUNA, the Kuwait News Agency, reported Friday.
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#2: One civilian was killed on Friday in a landmine explosion east of Basra, the head of removing landmines association said."A shepherd, was blown into pieces as he hit the landmine planted in al-Ghadier district in al-Shalamga region, east of Basra," Iyad Kanaan al-Tamemi told the independent news agency Voices of IraqMosul:#1: Three policemen were killed and four others injured in insurgents' attack on their patrol in Mosul City, a local security source said on Friday. "The incident occurred overnight when suspected al-Qaida insurgents attacked with Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPG) a police patrol in the Adan intersection" in the east of the city, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. Two of the patrol's vehicles were also damaged by the attack according to the source.#2: Joint forces from the Iraqi army and police defused a car bomb in central Mosul, the Ninewa police chief said on Friday.#3: The Iraqi soldier who killed two U.S. soldiers in Mosul 10 days ago was a member of an armed group who infiltrated into a joint Iraqi-U.S. force, the commander of the Iraqi army's 2nd Division said. "The soldier was part of a joint Iraqi-U.S. patrol undertaking security duty in al-Haramat area, western Mosul, on December 26. When the patrol came under firing attack, the soldier opened fire at U.S. soldiers and killed two of them," Brig. Mutaa Habib al-Khazraji told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI). The U.S. side denied that this Iraqi soldier opened fire at U.S. servicemen because they sexually harassed an Iraqi girl, affirming that the scene where the incident took place was void of any civilians.The U.S. DoD reports on December 26th. Capt. Rowdy J. Inman and Sgt. Benjamin B. Portell died in Mosul from small arms fire during dismounted combat operations.Ceyhan:#1: An Iraqi source reported that Iraq has resumed pumping crude oil at an average of 72,000 barrels a day via the northern pipeline into Turkey.
3 U.S. SOLDIERS KILLED IN BAGHDAD
The mainstream media has totally forgotten about our troops in Iraq, and even the death of three GIs in Iraq is not likely to drag the media away from their 24/7 reporting on the presidential election.
3 U.S. soldiers killed, 1 wounded in operations in Diala, Baghdad
http://tinyurl.com/2el8sq
Baghdad - Voices of Iraq
Friday , 04 /01 /2008 Time 9:41:21
Baghdad, Jan 4, (VOI) – Two U.S. soldiers were killed in military operations in the province of Diala while a third was killed by an improvised explosive device (IED) south of Baghdad, the U.S. army in Iraq said.
"Two Multi-National Division – North Soldiers were killed in a small-arms fire attack while conducting operations in Diala province Jan. 3. Additionally, one more MND-N Soldier was injured in the attack and evacuated to a Coalition Forces’ hospital," according to a U.S. army statement received by the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).The U.S. army had said in a statement on Thursday that a soldier of the MNF in central Iraq was killed when his foot patrol came under an IED attack on Wednesday in al-Zanbraniya area, al-Yousufiya district, south of Baghdad.With these two incidents the U.S. army lost three soldiers during the past three days of 2008.The deaths bring the number of the U.S. troops killed in Iraq since March 2003 invasion to 3,907, according to statistics released by the U.S. army.Of this number, 23 have been killed in December 2007, thus becoming the month with the second lowest number of U.S. fatalities after February 2004 during which 20 soldiers were killed.Despite a decrease in the number of U.S. loss of life in Iraq during the past six months, the total U.S. fatalities in 2007 amounted to 900, compared to 822 in 2006.November 2004, which witnessed fierce battles between U.S. forces and armed groups in Falluja city, Anbar province, remains the month that saw the highest U.S. death toll with 137.April 2004 comes second with 135, followed by May 2007 during which 126 U.S. soldiers were killed.
RETURNING GIS GET SHAFT FROM FEDERAL GOV'T
GI Bill pay for on-job training drops by $100
http://tinyurl.com/3az4p7
By Rick Maze - Staff writerPosted : Friday Jan 4, 2008 13:17:02 EST
GI Bill payments for on-the-job and apprenticeship training have dropped by more than $100 a month because Congress failed to extend a two-year-old pilot program that provided higher rates.
Effective Jan. 1, the maximum payment for on-the-job training for those who served at least three years of active duty is $825 for the first six months of training, $605.55 for the second six months and $385.35 for any remaining training. Since Oct. 1, the rates had been $935.85 for the first six months, $715.65 for the second six months and $494.45 for the remainder.
For people who served fewer than three years of active duty, the new benefits rates are $670.50 for the first six months, $491.70 for the second six months and $312.90 for the remainder. Previously, those rates were $759.90 for the first six months, $581.10 for the second six months and $402.30 for the remainder.
Because apprenticeship and on-the-job training benefits are paid one month after training is received, GI Bill recipients will see the drop in their February checks.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
CHILDREN OF THE DAMNED--VERY GRAPHIC
This YouTube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opdwA6XKvWM showing the horrors of war on the children of Iraq is by its nature very GRAPHIC and should be viewed with extreme caution.
Nobody is telling the American public about the war in Iraq anymore, and it is the mission of this blogger to keep bringing images and the latest news from Iraq to people who still care about what is going on in Iraq.
SERIES OF ATTACKS HIT BAGHDAD
BAGHDAD ROCKED BY SERIES OF ATTACKS
http://tinyurl.com/3a5ltp
BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb killed two people and wounded five when it exploded in Baghdad's southern outskirt of Zaafaraniya, police said.
BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb wounded four street cleaners in the New Baghdad district of the capital, police said.
BAGHDAD - A Katyusha rocket killed one person and wounded two when it landed on a house in western Baghdad's Shi'ite Washash neighbourhood, police said.
BAGHDAD - The bodies of three people were found in Baghdad on Wednesday, police said.
HAWIJA - Gunmen in a car attacked a checkpoint manned by members of the Awakening council, neighbourhood patrol volunteers fighting with the U.S. and Iraqi forces against al- Qaeda, wounding three of them in the town of Hawija, 180 km (110 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
MOSUL - Clashes erupted between gunmen and the police killing one policeman and wounding two on Wednesday in Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said. police detained 16 suspected insurgents after the clashes.
BAGHDAD - Clashes between the Iraqi Army and the neighourhood patrol of Baghdad's Sunni Aadhamiya district left three patrolmen wounded on Wednesday, members of the patrols said.
STRING OF SUICIDE BOMBINGS HIT IRAQ
String of suicide bombings in Iraq
The attacks, including the deadliest to hit Baghdad since August, came days after US military delivered an upbeat report on security in the country, according to the Christian Science Monitor.
By Vaishnavi Chandrashekhar
posted January 02, 2008 at 10:00 am EST
http://tinyurl.com/2kx9ak
Two suicide attacks in Iraq, including the deadliest to hit Baghdad since August, killed at least 56 people and wounded at least 42 on Tuesday and Wednesday. The attacks came days after the US military delivered an upbeat report on security in the country, reporting that levels of violence had dropped over the past year.
A female suicide bomber attacked a checkpoint of neighbourhood patrol volunteers Wednesday morning in Baquba, the capital of Diyala province, reports Reuters. The attack killed 10 and wounded eight, police said.
It was the latest in a wave of suicide bomb attacks that has appeared to intensify in recent days and weeks, even as overall levels of violence in Iraq have fallen.
Two policemen and four patrol volunteers were among the dead, police said. Among those killed was Abdul-Rafaa al-Nidawi, whom police described as the coordinator between U.S. forces and the volunteer patrols in the city.
The attack was on one of many "mainly Sunni Arab neighborhood patrols, paid by US forces to oppose Al Qaeda fighters, [which] have frequently been targeted in recent months," reports Al Jazeera.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
MORTAR BOMBS HIT BRIT BASE AT BASRA
The media was all excited when it was announced the British troops would be pulling out of Basra, Iraq, but look what has happened now.
Mortars hit British base in Basra-Security source
Basra - Voices of Iraq
Wednesday , 02 /01 /2008 Time 9:02:54
http://tinyurl.com/yuuotb
Basra, Jan 2, (VOI) - Mortars rounds hit the British base at Basra airport on Wednesday, while police arrested the killer of the police non-commissioner for northern Basra, a security source said on Wednesday. “Three mortar rounds landed in the British base at Basra airport. No further details are currently available,” a Basra security said.He added “Al-Maaqal police forces captured the station’s non-commissioner Qutaiba Aziz’s killer in Al-Maaqal.”He noted “non-commissioner Aziz was killed by unknown gunmen one month ago.” British soldiers are stationed in one base now - the Basra International Airport, 25 km northeast of Basra - after handing over the former presidential palaces, which they had used as a military base, to the Iraqi forces.The British forces in Basra, 590 km south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, maintain a presence of 5,250 troops within the Multi-National Forces in Iraq after withdrawing 1,600 soldiers over the past few months.Britain was the United States' prime ally in the March 2003 invasion of Iraq.
VISIT CLG FOR LATEST WAR NEWS
The Citizens For Legitimate Government website, http://www.legitgov.org/, is managed and edited by Lori Price. CLG is the best source around for the latest from both war theaters as well as other breaking news on events which impact on the lives of every American.
Check it out. You won't be disappointed.
54 JOURNALISTS KILLED IN IRAQ IN 2007
54 journalists killed in Iraq in 2007 - IJRDA
Baghdad - Voices of Iraq
Wednesday , 02 /01 /2008 Time 9:02:54
Baghdad, Jan 2, (VOI)- The annual report of the Iraqi Journalists’ Rights Defending Association (IJRDA) said on Wednesday that working as a journalist in Iraq remains the most dangerous job in the world, noting that a total of 54 journalists and media workers have been killed in the country during 2007.
"Journalists, reporters and media staffs face arresting malicious lawsuits, which negatively affect the freedom of expression and the press work in the country," the IJRDA said in its report received by the independent news agency voices of Iraq (VOI)."The absence of a legislation which organizes the media work in Iraq creates many problems and misleads journalists, who face lawsuits for publishing untrue news," it added."Arresting and suing campaigns against journalists require quick action to support and defend them before the court," the statement also said."The Iraqi Journalists’ Rights Defending Association launched a legal division, defense committee, and telephone hotline on August 18 for Iraqi journalists facing libel or defamation lawsuits. The IJRDA would provide lawyers, free of charge, to any journalist accused of violating publishing regulations. The group advertised the hotline contact information in Iraqi newspapers and with news agencies," said the association's release."A total of 54 journalists have been killed in 2207. Most of the fatalities have taken place in Baghdad and Ninewa. All of the attacks were launched by unknown gunmen," the release explained."31 journalists have been detained, 10 kidnapped, 6 of them were freed later, while 4 still missing," it noted.Unidentified gunmen, suicide bombers, and U.S. military activity all posed fatal risks for Iraqi journalistsThe IJRDA called on the Iraqi parliament to discuss raids against media institutions issue.The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said last October that 54 journalists and media workers have been killed in Iraq since the beginning of 2007, while the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said that a total of 234 journalists have been killed in the country since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003.The watchdog had placed Iraq in 157 rank in its annual press freedom index."The Iraqi journalists were killed by armed groups or militias angered by their coverage or ideologically opposed to their employers. Others were caught in crossfire," it highlighted."The situation in Iraq deteriorated further during the year as the safety of journalists became more precarious," RSF added.“Working as a journalist in Iraq remains one of the most dangerous jobs on the planet,” said Committee to Protect Journalists CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon.
8 KILLED, 16 WOUNDED IN BAAQUBA BOMBING
8 killed, 16 wounded in Baaquba bombing attack
http://tinyurl.com/2du8tb
Diala - Voices of Iraq
Wednesday , 02 /01 /2008 Time 9:02:54
Baaquba, Jan 2, (VOI)- At least eight persons, including two policemen, were killed and 16 others, including awakening council fighters, were injured on Wednesday when a suicide bomber blew herself up near the travel and nationality department in central Baaquba, a security source said.
"A suicide bomber blew up an explosive belt strapped to her body on Wednesday afternoon near the travel and nationality department in Naaquba al-Jadida region in central Baaquba, killing eight, including two policemen, and injuring 16, including awakening council fighters," the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).Chief of the Diala police department Gneneral Ghanem al-Qureshi had said earlier that a suicide bomber blew up an explosive belt strapped to her body near the travel and nationality department in Baaquba al-Jadida region at the center of the city, leaving unspecified number of casualties.Baaquba, the capital of Diala, lies 57 km northeast of Baghdad.
VIOLENCE CONTINUES ACROSS IRAQ---MEDIA IGNORES IT
The violence in Iraq continues from one end of the country to the other, however the mainstream media here in the United States is totally focuse on Iowa caucus and are paying little or no attention at all to what is taking place in Iraq.
On Wednesday, January 2, the following incidents were reported in the Iraq mediam, but were all but ignored by media here:
Security incidents:Baghdad:#1: In the same neighborhood, eastern Zayouna neighborhood, a roadside bomb targeting a police patrol wounded six people Wednesday - three police and three civilians, a police officer said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release information.#2: update--Relatives wept as the remains of victims from a suicide bombing at a funeral were placed into coffins Wednesday, while police increased the attack's death toll by four to 36 killed in Baghdad's deadliest attack since August.Diyala Prv:Baquba:
#1: A suicide bombing Wednesday in the city of Baqouba killed seven people and wounded 22, police said. In Wednesday's attack, the bomber detonated his explosives near a hospital in the center of the city. The dead included a policeman and two members of a U.S.-backed armed volunteer group, the Brigades of 1920s Revolution, a police officer said.
#2: A roadside bomb detonated, late last night, in Abo Sida district, near Baaquba, killing a civilian," the source, who asked not to be named, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq#3: the same source reported the injury of an Iraqi soldier when "four mortars landed on Abo Sida district Tuesday evening.Kut:#1: Gunmen attacked a house and killed two brothers -- a soldier and a policeman -- overnight in a town near the city of Kut, 110 km (105 miles) southeast of Baghdad, police said.Basra:#1: Three mortar rounds landed in the British base at Basra airport. No further details are currently available,” a Basra security said.Mosul:#1: U.S. forces said they had accidentally killed a woman when they fired a missile from a helicopter at a group planting a bomb on Tuesday evening in the northern city of Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad. The missile missed its target and struck a nearby building, the U.S. military said.#2: The body of an Iraqi soldier was found on Tuesday in Mosul a day after he was kidnapped, police said.
#4: The bodies of two men were found shot near Mosul on Tuesday, police said.
#5: An improvised explosive device went off on Wednesday near a patrol vehicle belonging to Ninewa police's 5th squad in Mosul's eastern neighborhood of al-Baath, wounding a policeman," the source, who preferred to remain unnamed, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq#5: Two other police personnel were injured when unknown gunmen opened fire on their patrol car in al-Nour neighborhood, eastern Mosul," the source added
.#6: A U.S. Soldier died as a result of a non-combat related injury in the vicinity of Qayyarah Airfield West Dec. 31.
