12 ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS NO ONE IS ASKING ABOUT IRAQ

12 Answers to Questions No One Is Asking About Iraq

by Tom Engelhardt TomDispatch
http://www.antiwar.com/engelhardt/?articleid=12720

Can there be any question that, since the invasion of 2003, Iraq has been unraveling? And here's the curious thing: Despite a lack of decent information and analysis on crucial aspects of the Iraqi catastrophe, despite the way much of the Iraq story fell off newspaper front pages and out of the TV news in the last year, despite so many reports on the "success" of the president's surge strategy, Americans sense this perfectly well.

In the latest Washington Post/ABC News poll, 56 percent of Americans "say the United States should withdraw its military forces to avoid further casualties" and this has, as the Post notes, been a majority position since January 2007, the month that the surge was first announced. Imagine what might happen if the American public knew more about the actual state of affairs in Iraq – and of thinking in Washington. So, here, in an attempt to unravel the situation in ever-unraveling Iraq are 12 answers to questions which should be asked far more often in this country:

1. Yes, the war has morphed into the U.S. military's worst Iraq nightmare: Few now remember, but before George W. Bush launched the invasion of Iraq in March 2003, top administration and Pentagon officials had a single overriding nightmare – not chemical, but urban, warfare. Saddam Hussein, they feared, would lure American forces into "Fortress Baghdad," as Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld labeled it. There, they would find themselves fighting block by block, especially in the warren of streets that make up the Iraqi capital's poorest districts.
When American forces actually entered Baghdad in early April 2003, however, even Saddam's vaunted Republican Guard units had put away their weapons and gone home. It took five years but, as of now, American troops are indeed fighting in the warren of streets in Sadr City, the Shi'ite slum of two and a half million in eastern Baghdad largely controlled by Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia. The U.S. military, in fact, recently experienced its worst week of 2008 in terms of casualties, mainly in and around Baghdad. So, mission accomplished – the worst fear of 2003 has now been realized.

2. No, there was never an exit strategy from Iraq because the Bush administration never intended to leave – and still doesn't: Critics of the war have regularly gone after the Bush administration for its lack of planning, including its lack of an "exit strategy." In this, they miss the point. The Bush administration arrived in Iraq with four mega-bases on the drawing boards. These were meant to undergird a future American garrisoning of that country and were to house at least 30,000 American troops, as well as U.S. air power, for the indefinite future. The term used for such places wasn't "permanent base," but the more charming and euphemistic "enduring camp." (In fact, as we learned recently, the Bush administration refuses to define any American base on foreign soil anywhere on the planet, including ones in Japan for over 60 years, as permanent.) Those four monster bases in Iraq (and many others) were soon being built at the cost of multibillions and are, even today, being significantly upgraded. In October 2007, for instance, National Public Radio's defense correspondent Guy Raz visited Balad Air Base, north of Baghdad, which houses about 40,000 American troops, contractors, and Defense Department civilian employees, and described it as "one giant construction project, with new roads, sidewalks, and structures going up across this 16-square-mile fortress in the center of Iraq, all with an eye toward the next few decades."
These mega-bases, like "Camp Cupcake" (al-Asad Air Base), nicknamed for its amenities, are small town-sized with massive facilities, including PXs, fast-food outlets, and the latest in communications. They have largely been ignored by the American media and so have played no part in the debate about Iraq in this country, but they are the most striking on-the-ground evidence of the plans of an administration that simply never expected to leave. To this day, despite the endless talk about drawdowns and withdrawals, that hasn't changed. In fact, the latest news about secret negotiations for a future Status of Forces Agreement on the American presence in that country indicates that U.S. officials are calling for "an open-ended military presence" and "no limits on numbers of U.S. forces, the weapons they are able to deploy, their legal status or powers over Iraqi citizens, going far beyond long-term U.S. security agreements with other countries."

3. Yes, the United States is still occupying Iraq (just not particularly effectively): In June 2004, the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), then ruling the country, officially turned over "sovereignty" to an Iraqi government largely housed in the American-controlled Green Zone in Baghdad and the occupation officially ended. However, the day before the head of the CPA, L. Paul Bremer III, slipped out of the country without fanfare, he signed, among other degrees, Order 17, which became (and, remarkably enough, remains) the law of the land. It is still a document worth reading as it essentially granted to all occupying forces and allied private companies what, in the era of colonialism, used to be called "extraterritoriality" – the freedom not to be in any way subject to Iraqi law or jurisdiction, ever. And so the occupation ended without ever actually ending. With 160,000 troops still in Iraq, not to speak of an unknown number of hired guns and private security contractors, the U.S. continues to occupy the country, whatever the legalities might be (including a UN mandate and the claim that we are part of a "coalition"). The only catch is this: As of now, the U.S. is simply the most technologically sophisticated and potentially destructive of Iraq's proliferating militias – and outside the fortified Green Zone in Baghdad, it is capable of controlling only the ground that its troops actually occupy at any moment.

4. Yes, the war was about oil: Oil was hardly mentioned in the mainstream media or by the administration before the invasion was launched. The president, when he spoke of Iraq's vast petroleum reserves at all, piously referred to them as the sacred "patrimony of the people of Iraq." But an administration of former energy execs – with a national security adviser who once sat on the board of Chevron and had a double-hulled oil tanker, the Condoleezza Rice, named after her (until she took office), and a vice president who was especially aware of the globe's potentially limited energy supplies – certainly had oil reserves and energy flows on the brain. They knew, in Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz's apt phrase, that Iraq was afloat on "a sea of oil" and that it sat strategically in the midst of the oil heartlands of the planet.
It wasn't a mistake that, in 2001, Vice President Dick Cheney's semi-secret Energy Task Force set itself the "task" of opening up the energy sectors of various Middle Eastern countries to "foreign investment"; or that it scrutinized "a detailed map of Iraq's oil fields, together with the (non-American) oil companies scheduled to develop them"; or that, according to the New Yorker's Jane Mayer, the National Security Council directed its staff "to cooperate fully with the Energy Task Force as it considered the 'melding' of two seemingly unrelated areas of policy: 'the review of operational policies towards rogue states,' such as Iraq, and 'actions regarding the capture of new and existing oil and gas fields'"; or that the only American troops ordered to guard buildings in Iraq, after Baghdad fell, were sent to the Oil Ministry (and the Interior Ministry, which housed Saddam Hussein's dreaded secret police); or that the first "reconstruction" contract was issued to Cheney's former firm, Halliburton, for "emergency repairs" to those patrimonial oil fields. Once in charge in Baghdad, as sociologist Michael Schwartz has made clear, the administration immediately began guiding recalcitrant Iraqis toward denationalizing and opening up their oil industry, as well as bringing in the big boys.
Though rampant insecurity has kept the Western oil giants on the sidelines, the American-shaped "Iraqi" oil law quickly became a "benchmark" of "progress" in Washington and remains a constant source of prodding and advice from American officials in Baghdad. Former Federal Reserve chief Alan Greenspan put the oil matter simply and straightforwardly in his memoir in 2007: "I am saddened," he wrote, "that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil." In other words, in a variation on the old Bill Clinton campaign mantra: It's the oil, stupid. Greenspan was, unsurprisingly, roundly assaulted for the obvious naiveté of his statement, from which, when it proved inconvenient, he quickly retreated. But if this administration hadn't had oil on the brain in 2002-2003, given the importance of Iraq's reserves, Congress should have impeached the president and vice president for that.

5. No, our new embassy in Baghdad is not an "embassy": When, for more than three-quarters of a billion dollars, you construct a complex – regularly described as "Vatican-sized" – of at least 20 "blast-resistant" buildings on 104 acres of prime Baghdad real estate, with "fortified working space" and a staff of at least 1,000 (plus several thousand guards, cooks, and general factotums), when you deeply embunker it, equip it with its own electricity and water systems, its own anti-missile defense system, its own PX, and its own indoor and outdoor basketball courts, volleyball court, and indoor Olympic-size swimming pool, among other things, you haven't built an "embassy" at all. What you've constructed in the heart of the heart of another country is more than a citadel, even if it falls short of a city-state. It is, at a minimum, a monument to Bush administration dreams of domination in Iraq and in what its adherents once liked to call "the Greater Middle East."
Just about ready to open, after the normal construction mishaps in Iraq, it will constitute the living definition of diplomatic overkill. It will, according to a Senate estimate, now cost Americans $1.2 billion a year just to be "represented" in Iraq. The "embassy" is, in fact, the largest headquarters on the planet for the running of an occupation. Functionally, it is also another well-fortified enduring camp with the amenities of home. Tell that to the Shi'ite militiamen now mortaring the Green Zone as if it were… enemy-occupied territory.

6. No, the Iraqi government is not a government: The government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has next to no presence in Iraq beyond the Green Zone; it delivers next to no services; it has next to no ability to spend its own oil money, reconstruct the country, or do much of anything else, and it most certainly does not hold a monopoly on the instruments of violence. It has no control over the provinces of northern Iraq which operate as a near-independent Kurdish state. Non-Kurdish Iraqi troops are not even allowed on its territory. Maliki's government cannot control the largely Sunni provinces of the country, where its officials are regularly termed "the Iranians" (a reference to the heavily Shi'ite government's closeness to neighboring Iran) and are considered the equivalent of representatives of a foreign occupying power; and it does not control the Shi'ite south, where power is fragmented among the militias of ISCI (the Badr Organization), Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army, and the armed adherents of the Fadhila Party, a Sadrist offshoot, among others.
In Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai has been derisively nicknamed "the mayor of Kabul" for his government's lack of control over much territory outside the national capital. It would be a step forward for Maliki if he were nicknamed "the mayor of Baghdad." Right now, his troops, heavily backed by American forces, are fighting for some modest control over Shi'ite cities (or parts of cities) from Basra to Baghdad.

7. No, the surge is not over: Two weeks ago, amid much hoopla, Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker spent two days before Congress discussing the president's surge strategy in Iraq and whether it has been a "success." But that surge – the ground one in which an extra 30,000-plus American troops were siphoned into Baghdad and, to a lesser extent, adjoining provinces, was by then already so over. In fact, all but about 10,000 of those troops will be home by the end of July, not because the president has had any urge for a drawdown, but, as Fred Kaplan of Slate.com wrote recently, "because of simple math. The five extra combat brigades, which were deployed to Iraq with the surge, each have 15-month tours of duty; the 15 months will be up in July… and the U.S. Army and Marines have no combat brigades ready to replace them."
On the other hand, in all those days of yak, neither the general with so much more "martial bling" on his chest than any victorious World War II commander, nor the white-haired ambassador uttered a word about the surge that is ongoing – the air surge that began in mid-2007 and has yet to end. Explain it as you will, but, with rare exceptions, American reporters in Iraq generally don't look up or more of them would have noticed that the extra air units surged into that country and the region in the last year are now being brought to bear over Iraq's cities. Today, as fighting goes on in Sadr City, American helicopters and Hellfire-missile armed Predator drones reportedly circle overhead almost constantly and air strikes of various kinds on city neighborhoods are on the rise. Yet the air surge in Iraq remains unacknowledged here and so is not a subject for discussion, debate, or consideration when it comes to our future in Iraq.

8. No, the Iraqi army will never "stand up": It can't. It's not a national army. It's not that Iraqis can't fight – or fight bravely. Ask the Sunni insurgents. Ask the Mahdi Army militia of Moqtada al-Sadr. It's not that Iraqis are incapable of functioning in a national army. In the bitter Iran-Iraq War of 1980-88, Iraqi Shi'ite as well as Sunni conscripts, led by a largely Sunni officer corps, fought Iranian troops fiercely in battle after pitched battle. But from Fallujah in 2004 to today, Iraqi army (and police) units, wheeled into battle (often at the behest of the Americans), have regularly broken and run, or abandoned their posts, or gone over to the other side, or, at the very least, fought poorly. In the recent offensive launched by the Maliki government in Basra, military and police units up against a single resistant militia, the Mahdi Army, deserted in sizable numbers, while other units, when not backed by the Americans, gave poor showings. At least 1,300 troops and police (including 37 senior police officers) were recently "fired" by Maliki for dereliction of duty, while two top commanders were removed as well.
Though American training began in 2004 and, by 2005, the president was regularly talking about us "standing down" as soon as the Iraqi army "stood up," as Charles Hanley of the Associated Press points out, "Year by year, the goal of deploying a capable, freestanding Iraqi army has seemed to always slip further into the future." He adds, "In the latest shift, the Pentagon's new quarterly status report quietly drops any prediction of when local units will take over security responsibility for Iraq. Last year's reports had forecast a transition in 2008." According to Hanley, the chief American trainer of Iraqi forces, Lt. Gen. James Dubik, now estimates that the military will not be able to guard the country's borders effectively until 2018.
No wonder. The "Iraqi military" is not in any real sense a national military at all. Its troops generally lack heavy weaponry, and it has neither a real air force nor a real navy. Its command structures are integrated into the command structure of the U.S. military, while the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Navy are the real Iraqi air force and navy. It is reliant on the U.S. military for much of its logistics and resupply, even after an investment of $22 billion by the American taxpayer. It represents a non-government, is riddled with recruits from Shi'ite militias (especially the Badr brigades), and is riven about who its enemy is (or enemies are) and why. It cannot be a "national" army because it has, in essence, nothing to stand up for.
You can count on one thing, as long as we are "training" and "advising" the Iraqi military, however many years down the line, you will read comments like this one from an American platoon sergeant, after an Iraqi front-line unit abandoned its positions in the ongoing battle for control of parts of Sadr City: "It bugs the hell out of me. We don't see any progress being made at all. We hear these guys in firefights. We know if we are not up there helping these guys out we are making very little progress."

9. No, the U.S. military does not stand between Iraq and fragmentation: The U.S. invasion and the Bush administration's initial occupation policies decisively smashed Iraq's fragile "national" sense of self. Since then, the Bush administration, a motor for chaos and fragmentation, has destroyed the national (if dictatorial) government, allowed the capital and much of the country (as well as its true patrimony of ancient historical objects and sites) to be looted, disbanded the Iraqi military, and deconstructed the national economy. Ever since, whatever the administration rhetoric, the U.S. has only presided over the further fragmentation of the country. Its military, in fact, employs a specific policy of urban fragmentation in which it regularly builds enormous concrete walls around neighborhoods, supposedly for "security" and "reconstruction," that actually cut them off from their social and economic surroundings. And, of course, Iraq has in these years been fragmented in other staggering ways with an estimated four-plus million Iraqis driven into exile abroad or turned into internal refugees.
According to Pepe Escobar of the Asia Times, there are now at least 28 different militias in the country. The longer the U.S. remains even somewhat in control, the greater the possibility of further fragmentation. Initially, the fragmentation was sectarian – into Kurdish, Sunni, and Shia regions, but each of those regions has its own potentially hostile parts and so its points of future conflict and further fragmentation. If the U.S. military spent the early years of its occupation fighting a Sunni insurgency in the name of a largely Shi'ite (and Kurdish) government, it is now fighting a Shi'ite militia, while paying and arming former Sunni insurgents, relabeled "Sons of Iraq." Iran is also clearly sending arms into a country that is, in any case, awash in weaponry. Without a real national government, Iraq has descended into a welter of militia-controlled neighborhoods, city states, and provincial or regional semi-governments. Despite all the talk of American-supported "reconciliation," Juan Cole described the present situation well at his Informed Comment blog: "Maybe the U.S. in Iraq is not the little boy with his finger in the dike. Maybe we are workers with jackhammers instructed to make the hole in the dike much more huge."

10. No, the U.S. military does not stand between Iraq and civil war: As with fragmentation, the U.S. military's presence has, in fact, been a motor for civil war in that country. The invasion and subsequent chaos, as well as punitive acts against the Sunni minority, allowed Sunni extremists, some of whom took the name "al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia," to establish themselves as a force in the country for the first time. Later, U.S. military operations in both Sunni and Shi'ite areas regularly repressed local militias – almost the only forces capable of bringing some semblance of security to urban neighborhoods – opening the way for the most extreme members of the other community (Sunni suicide or car bombers and Shi'ite death squads) to attack. It's worth remembering that it was in the surge months of 2007, when all those extra American troops hit Baghdad neighborhoods, that many of the city's mixed or Sunni neighborhoods were most definitively "cleansed" by death squads, producing a 75-80 percent Shi'ite capital. Iraq is now embroiled in what Juan Cole has termed "three civil wars," two of which (in the south and the north) are largely beyond the reach of limited American ground forces and all of which could become far worse. The still low-level struggle between Kurds and Arabs (with the Turks hovering nearby) for the oil-rich city of Kirkuk in the north may be the true explosion point to come. The U.S. military sits precariously atop this mess, at best putting off to the future aspects of the present civil-war landscape, but more likely intensifying it.

11. No, al-Qaeda will not control Iraq if we leave (and neither will Iran): The latest figures tell the story. Of 658 suicide bombings globally in 2007 (more than double those of any year in the last quarter century), 542, according to the Washington Post's Robin Wright, took place in occupied Iraq or Afghanistan, mainly Iraq. In other words, the American occupation of that land has been a motor for acts of terrorism (as occupations will be). There was no al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia before the invasion and Iraq was no Afghanistan. The occupation under whatever name will continue to create "terrorists," no matter how many times the administration claims that "al-Qaeda" is on the run. With the departure of U.S. troops, it's clear that homegrown Sunni extremists (and the small number of foreign jihadists who work with them), already a minority of a minority, will more than meet their match in facing the Sunni mainstream. The Sunni Awakening Movement came into existence, in part, to deal with such self-destructive extremism (and its fantasies of a Taliban-style society) before the Americans even noticed that it was happening. When the Americans leave, "al-Qaeda" (and whatever other groups the Bush administration subsumes under that catchall title) will undoubtedly lose much of their raison d'être or simply be crushed.
As for Iran, the moment the Bush administration finally agreed to a popular democratic vote in occupied Iraq, it ensured one thing – that the Shi'ite majority would take control, which in practice meant religio-political parties that, throughout the Saddam Hussein years, had generally been close to, or in exile in, Iran. Everything the Bush administration has done since has only ensured the growth of Iranian influence among Shi'ite groups. This is surely meant by the Iranians as, in part, a threat/trump card, should the Bush administration launch an attack on that country. After all, crucial U.S. resupply lines from Kuwait run through areas near Iran and would assumedly be relatively easy to disrupt.
Without the U.S. military in Iraq, there can be no question that the Iranians would have real influence over the Shi'ite (and probably Kurdish) parts of the country. But that influence would have its distinct limits. If Iran overplayed its hand even in a rump Shi'ite Iraq, it would soon enough find itself facing some version of the situation that now confronts the Americans. As Robert Dreyfuss wrote in the Nation recently, "[D]espite Iran's enormous influence in Iraq, most Iraqis – even most Iraqi Shi'ites – are not pro-Iran. On the contrary, underneath the ruling alliance in Baghdad, there is a fierce undercurrent of Arab nationalism in Iraq that opposes both the U.S. occupation and Iran's support for religious parties in Iraq." The al-Qaedan and Iranian "threats" are, at one and the same time, bogeymen, used by the Bush administration to scare Americans who might favor withdrawal and, paradoxically, realities that a continued military presence only encourages.

12. Yes, some Americans were right about Iraq from the beginning (and not the pundits, either): One of the strangest aspects of the recent fifth anniversary (as of every other anniversary) of the invasion of Iraq was the newspaper print space reserved for those Bush administration officials and other war supporters who were dead wrong in 2002-2003 on an endless host of Iraq-related topics. Many of them were given ample opportunity to offer their views on past failures, the "success" of the surge, future withdrawals or drawdowns, and the responsibilities of a future U.S. president in Iraq.
Noticeably missing were representatives of the group of Americans who happened to have been right from the get-go. In our country, of course, it often doesn't pay to be right. (It's seen as a sign of weakness or plain dumb luck.) I'm speaking, in this case, of the millions of people who poured into the streets to demonstrate against the coming invasion with an efflorescence of placards that said things too simpleminded (as endless pundits assured American news readers at the time) to take seriously – like "No Blood for Oil," "Don't Trade Lives for Oil," or ""How did USA's oil get under Iraq's sand?" At the time, it seemed clear to most reporters, commentators, and op-ed writers that these sign-carriers represented a crew of well-meaning know-nothings and the fact that their collective fears proved all too prescient still can't save them from that conclusion. So, in their very rightness, they were largely forgotten.
Now, as has been true for some time, a majority of Americans, another obvious bunch of know-nothings, are deluded enough to favor bringing all U.S. troops out of Iraq at a reasonable pace and relatively soon. (More than 60 percent of them also believe "that the conflict is not integral to the success of U.S. anti-terrorism efforts.") If, on the other hand, a poll were taken of pundits and the inside-the-Beltway intelligentsia (not to speak of the officials of the Bush administration), the number of them who would want a total withdrawal from Iraq (or even see that as a reasonable goal) would undoubtedly descend near the vanishing point. When it comes to American imperial interests, most of them know better, just as so many of them did before the war began. Even advisers to candidates who theoretically want out of Iraq are hinting that a full-scale withdrawal is hardly the proper way to go.

So let me ask you a question (and you answer it): Given all of the above, given the record thus far, who is likely to be right?

MARINE CORPS TIMES REPORTS: CAMP LEJEUNE MARINES AND SAILORS LEAVE FOR IRAQ

JACKSONVILLE, N.C. — About 1,000 Camp Lejeune, N.C.-based Marines and sailors are deploying to Iraq this week.

Staff reportPosted : Monday Apr 21, 2008 16:14:26 EDT
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/04/marine_deploy_042108w/

Members of 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines began leaving Monday, according to a 2nd Marine Division spokesman. The Marines and sailors are deploying to western Anbar province, where they will remain for about seven months.

IRAQ TEETERS ON BRINK OF COMPLETE COLLAPSE: PM CALLS FOR HELP FROM ARAB NEIGHBORS

Iraqi leader calls for Arab support as militia threats grow

Iraqi leader calls on Arab states for support as al-Sadr followers brace for more clashes

ROBERT H. REID and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRAAP News
Apr 21, 2008 19:37 EST

http://wiredispatch.com/news/?id=137487

Iraq's prime minister appealed Monday for support from his Arab neighbors, urging them to open embassies and forgive Iraqi debts as his government tries to crack down on Shiite militias in a crucial power struggle.

The appeal came as leaders of the biggest militia — the Mahdi Army of cleric Muqtada al-Sadr — warned more violence could await, even as they criticized the government for allegedly showing little interest in negotiating with them.

With tension rising, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki flew to Kuwait for a meeting Tuesday of Iraq's neighbors to discuss ways they can help Iraq's Shiite-led government as it confronts both Shiite militias and Sunni extremists including al-Qaida in Iraq.

Al-Maliki said he will be looking for tangible support, including relief from Iraq's $67 billion foreign debt — most of it owed to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

"There are countries that support the political process and are opening embassies here. We need the others to open embassies here, too," al-Maliki told reporters.

The direct appeal to Arab heavyweights highlights the regional dilemma posed by Iraq.
Sunni Arabs have a strong stake in keeping Iraq — which is majority Shiite — firmly in the Arab orbit as a buffer against expanding influence by Iran, the largest Shiite nation. But Arab neighbors are still leery of al-Maliki's government and the deep Iranian ties of its main backers.
Al-Maliki is hoping that the ongoing crackdown against Shiite militants — principally al-Sadr's fighters — will allay their fears of Iranian leanings and a bias against his own Sunni population — which long held a privileged position under Saddam Hussein.

But he also pointed the finger at "some nations" he claimed were supporting extremist groups and "inciting strife through the media" — an apparent reference to Arab satellite TV stations based in the Gulf which the leadership here considers hostile to the government.
"I am a bewildered by the position of these nations," al-Maliki added, without specifically naming a country. "Do they want to support Iraq? Iraq has emerged from a crisis and needs to be supported."

U.S. officials have accused Iran — which will attend the Kuwait conference — of supporting Shiite extremists in Iraq, an allegation the Iranians deny.

The United States, too, has pressed Arab governments to respond to security improvements and political advances in Iraq with financial and political support. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, who visited Baghdad on Sunday, is scheduled to be at the Kuwait meeting to lend support to Iraq.

Last weekend, al-Sadr, who is believed to be in Iran, threatened in a Web site statement to declare full-scale war on the U.S.-backed government if attacks on his followers continue.
In Najaf, a top Sadrist spokesman, Salah al-Obeidi, warned tha

NAMES AND HOMETOWNS OF MORE US FATALITIES FROM IRAQ WAR

Latest Coalition Fatalities

http://icasualties.org/oif/ (click on shaded part for additional informaton)

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...

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:

4041 Confirmed Deaths:
4039 Pending Confirmation:
2 DoD Confirmation List

US CASUALTY REPORT AND ACTS OF VIOLENCE MONDAY IN IRAQ

Monday, April 21, 2008

Casualty Reports:Jose Pequeno, a sergeant in the National Guard was left with severe head injuries after a roadside bomb tore through his Humvee while on patrol near Ramadi in March 2006. He has been receiving treatment at the Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C., ever since.

Justin Kuehnle, 21, was injured when he hit a roadside bomb while serving in Iraq.

War News for Monday, April 01, 2008

The following list of violence took place in just one day, Monday, in Baghdad and other provinces throughout Iraq and Afghanistan.

http://warnewstoday.blogspot.com/

Baghdad:#1: Six people died in clashes in Baghdad's embattled Sadr City on Monday. A police commander said the dead in the Shiite enclave of Sadr City included three policemen and three civilians. Four other civilians were injured in the violence, according to the officer who asked not to be named since he was not authorized to release the information.The two hospitals in Sadr City said on Monday they had received 14 dead and 55 wounded since Sunday morning.

#2: US warplanes bombed the east Baghdad district of Sadr City overnight, where Shiite militiamen are battling security forces, residents said on Monday, as the American military reported another five people killed in the embattled township.

#3: About two hours later, according to witnesses, helicopters fired missiles at four targets in Sadr City, where hundreds of people have died since Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki ordered a crackdown on militias across Iraq in late March

.#4: It said another gunman was killed and two wounded when they attacked a military observation post in Sadr City and US troops returned fire.

#5: Militants fired a rocket on Sunday that landed in the Kadhimiya area of northern Baghdad, killing one civilian and wounding eight, the U.S. military said.

#6: Also in Kadhimiya, an improvised explosive device detonated in front of a U.S. patrol, killing one civilian and wounding three, the U.S. military said.#7-9: Three council members, including a woman, were seriously wounded in different incidents when bombs were attached to their cars in different areas of Baghdad, police said.

#7: Around 8 am, three IEDs planted in three cars targeted employees of the Cabinet office. The first one was in Dora and the employee was driving his own car the BMW when it exploded and he was injured in that incident.

#8: The second one targeted another employee who was injured as he was driving his Hyundai car with another passenger who was sitting by him.

#9: The third one targeted a female employee’s car at Alawi neighborhood. She was injured in that incident.

#10: Three policemen were killed and four civilians wounded when a roadside bomb exploded near their patrol on Sunday in the New Baghdad district, police said.

#11: Around 10 am, two roadside bombs targeted two cars near the red crescent in Mansour neighborhood .No casualties reported.

#12: Around 11 am, random clashes took place at Rubayee street of Zayuna (east Baghdad). Six people were killed including a woman in that incident.

#13: Around 3:20 pm, mortars hit the green zone (IZ) in central Baghdad.No casualties reported.

#14: Around 4 pm, a roadside bomb targeted a KIA mini bus near the oil marketing headquarter at Zayuna neighborhood (east Baghdad). One person was killed and five others were injured in that incident.

#15: Around 4 pm, a mortar shell hit Mashtal neighborhood (east Baghdad). Two people were injured in that incident.

#16: Around 4 pm, clashes took place at Mashtal neighborhood (east Baghdad) between the Iraqi army and the Mahdi army . Five people were injured in that clashes.

#17: Around 6 and 6:30 pm, two Katyusha missiles hit the Supreme council headquarters .No casualties reported.

#18: Around 6:10 pm, a Katyusha missile hit the Salhiyah compound (central Baghdad).No casualties recorded ,but some cars were damaged in that incident.

#19: Police found 4 dead bodies in Baghdad today: (3) were found in east Baghdad (Risafa bank); 1 was in Zayuna , 1 was in Husseiniyah and 1 was in Mashtal. While(1) was found in Dora.

Diyala Prv:Baquba:#1: A woman suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt blew herself up Monday at a checkpoint manned by tribal police in Baquba, north-east of Baghdad, killing three of them, police said. Seven tribal policemen from Awakening Council were also injured in the attack in Mafraq area west of Baquba, 60 kilometres north-east of Baghdad, police said.#2: A suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest near a joint checkpoint of Iraqi and U.S. forces in the district of Kanaan, Baaquba, during the early hours of Monday but left no casualties, a security source said.

Basra:#1: A bomb hit a British army patrol Monday in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, damaging a military vehicle, eyewitnesses said. The bomb went off as the British patrol was passing at a crossroad between Basra airport and Qaziz, north of Basra, 550 kilometres south of Iraq, the witnesses said.The U.S. military says a roadside bomb hit one of its convoys in the southern city of Basra, causing casualties. The military has given no further details. AP Television News footage from Basra showed smoke rising from a vehicle burning on a highway overpass. U.S. troops and Humvees blocked access to the scene.Southern Iraq:#1: The Iraqi Defence Ministry said Iraqi forces killed 30 militants in southern Iraq over the past 24 hours.

Sulaiman Pek:#1: Gunmen killed a police captain near his house on Sunday in the town of Sulaiman Pek, 160 km (100 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

Kirkuk:#1: A policeman was killed and four wounded when a roadside bomb exploded near their patrol in Kirkuk, police said.A Kurdish official and four of his escorts were wounded when an improvised explosive device (IED) went off near their vehicle in central Kirkuk on Monday, an official police source said. "An IED targeted the vehicle of Jabbar al-Hadj Jalal, the official in charge of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) relations department, when he was heading to his work in Sahat al-Tayaran area in central Kirkuk, wounding him and four of his escorts," the source, who refused to be named, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq.

Mosul:#1: Unidentified gunmen shot and killed a civilian in al-Islah al-Zeraei region in western Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq – (VOI) on condition of anonymity.

#2: Meanwhile, the spokesman for the Ninewa operations, Brigadier Khaled Abdul Sattar, told VOI that an improvised explosive device went off targeting a police vehicle patrol in al-Jameaa neighborhood in northern Mosul, wounding two policemen.

#3: Policemen found a driver’s body after hours of being kidnapped,” the brigadier added.“The forces found the body of a driver from Ninewa’s water department in al-Haramat region in western Mosul,” he explained.“Gunmen kidnapped him in 17 Tamouz region in western Mosul this morning and took him to unknown place,” Abdul Sattar highlighted.

Afghanistan:#1: Clashes and airstrikes in southern Afghanistan killed 11 Taliban militants, the country's Defense Ministry said Monday. Afghan and foreign troops clashed with Taliban fighters and called in airstrikes Sunday in Garmser district of Helmand province, leaving seven militants dead, the ministry said.#2: Four other militants were killed Sunday after they ambushed an Afghan army patrol in Kandahar province, the ministry said in a statement.#3: Separately, a roadside bomb hit an Afghan army patrol in Zabul province, wounding five soldiers, the ministry said.#4: A roadside blast hit a U.S. military vehicle in southern Afghanistan on Monday, causing minor injuries, the military said. The roadside bomb struck a vehicle in the southern Kandahar province, said Lt. Col. Paul Fanning, a U.S. military spokesman. There were no deaths, but a "couple of soldiers" were lightly wounded, he said.

US JETS DROP BOMBS ON CIVILIANS IN SADR CITY

Where are all those retired Generals who are making big bucks off the war as lobbyists and sitting on the Board of defense contractors who will go on TV as "military experts" to claim that "collateral damage" is just part of warfare?

US jets have dropped tons of bombs on civilian neighborhoods in Sadr City in another example of strategic or pinpoint bombing. The accuracy of the guided bombing is mind-boggling. Apparently if the US planes hit one military target out of ten it is considered a good bombing run.

US jets drop bombs on Sadr City Mon, 21 Apr 2008 13:42:45

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=52498&sectionid=351020201

US warplanes have dropped bombs on east Baghdad district of Sadr City where hundreds of civilians have already been killed in air strikes. Residents said low flying jets dropped bombs in sectors 22 and 24 of Sadr City, around midnight (2100 GMT Sunday).

About two hours later, according to witnesses, helicopters fired missiles at four targets in Sadr City. The populated slum area has frequently been pounded by US aircraft or artillery.

Many civilians have been killed and wounded as a result of the attacks.

IRAN ARMY EQUIPPED WITH HIGHLY SOPHISTICATED EQUIPMENT

Iran army sophisticated, undefeatable

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 12:54:16

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=52493&sectionid=351020101

Iran's Army Commander, Major-General Ataollah SalehiThe Iranian army commander says the country is equipped with highly sophisticated military equipment that has not yet been unveiled.

“Today, the Iranian army is equipped with highly sophisticated military equipment, which it does not deem necessary to display before the eyes of insiders or outsiders,” said Major-General Ataollah Salehi in Tehran on Monday. Salehi added that the airborne radar that was showcased during Thursday's aerial parade was only one item in Iran's newly developed military technology.

The commander also said that the Iranian army is capable of producing and maintaining advanced weapons, as it has acquired the necessary technology. He then went on to compare Iran in terms of military competence with countries that purchase their weapons from Western states, saying, “Although some countries that have grown strong thanks to US support possess advanced weaponry, I can assure you that their foreign-supplied weaponry will be of no use to them if one day they make the decision to stand on their own feet, because they will not have access to the technology.” “This is why the Iranian armed forces are undefeatable,” he added.

COLT CARBINE RIFLE CONTRACT CRITICIZED

No weapon is more important to tens of thousands of U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan than the carbine rifle. And for well over a decade, the military has relied on one company, Colt Defense of Hartford, Conn., to make the M4s they trust with their lives.

Colt's grip on military rifle criticized
AP EXCLUSIVE: Colt's grip on military rifle market called a bad deal for troops, taxpayers
RICHARD LARDNERAP News
Apr 20, 2008 15:22 EST

http://wiredispatch.com/news/?id=135940

Now, as Congress considers spending millions more on the guns, this exclusive arrangement is being criticized as a bad deal for American forces as well as taxpayers, according to interviews and research conducted by The Associated Press.

"What we have is a fat contractor in Colt who's gotten very rich off our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan," says Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla.

The M4, which can fire at a rate of 700 to 950 bullets a minute, is a shorter and lighter version of the company's M16 rifle first used 40 years ago during the Vietnam War. It normally carries a 30-round magazine. At about $1,500 apiece, the M4 is overpriced, according to Coburn. It jams too often in sandy environments like Iraq, he adds, and requires far more maintenance than more durable carbines.

"And if you tend to have the problem at the wrong time, you're putting your life on the line," says Coburn, who began examining the M4's performance last year after receiving complaints from soldiers. "The fact is, the American GI today doesn't have the best weapon. And they ought to."
U.S. military officials don't agree. They call the M4 an excellent carbine. When the time comes to replace the M4, they want a combat rifle that is leaps and bounds beyond what's currently available.
"There's not a weapon out there that's significantly better than the M4," says Col. Robert Radcliffe, director of combat developments at the Army Infantry Center in Fort Benning, Ga. "To replace it with something that has essentially the same capabilities as we have today doesn't make good sense."
Colt's exclusive production agreement ends in June 2009. At that point, the Army, in its role as the military's principal buyer of firearms, may have other gunmakers compete along with Colt for continued M4 production. Or, it might begin looking for a totally new weapon.
"We haven't made up our mind yet," Radcliffe says.

WHAT WAS CONDI RICE THINKING?

Is Condoleeza Rice bucking to get canned by President Bush, or is she just carrying Bush's water like she always does?

During her recent visit to Baghdad, Rice mocked the rebel cleric Muqtada al Sadr and her comments could eventually cost a lot of American lives.

Condoleezza Rice mocks Sadr as a coward.»

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/04/20/condoleezza-rice-mocks-sadr-as-a-coward/

“Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice mocked anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr as a coward on Sunday, hours after the radical leader threatened to declare war unless U.S. and Iraqi forces end a military crackdown on his followers.” Spencer Ackerman remarks, “So Sadr is a coward for making threats from Iran… and Condoleezza Rice is a stateswoman for blustering Sadr into making a move that carries the potential of killing American soldiers.”

And VetVoice’s Brandon Friedman comments that this echoes Bush’s “Bring ‘em on” declaration.

CASUALTIES IN IRAQ: THE HUMAN COST OF OCCUPATION

The media in the United States no longer provides data on the number of US casualties in Iraq, and never tells the American public how many Iraqi citizens have been killed since President Bush, Vice President Cheney and the "White House Warmongers" decided it was a bright idea to invade a country that had absolutely NOTHING to do with the 9/11 attack.

http://antiwar.com/casualties/ (click on this link for detailed stats on casualties from the war)

To add insult to injury, President Bush won't even allow any photos taken of the dead servicemen returning to Dover AFB in flag-draped coffins.

It wasn't long ago, a family of one service member killed in Iraq managed to get on the Dover AFB as their son was returned from Iraq.

They thought there would be an honor guard to help remove his flag-draped coffin from the military aircraft, but instead there was no military honor guard and his remains were unloaded with the rest of the baggage from the baggage compartment of the military plane.

That is a clear indication of how President Bush and Vice President Cheney feel about the brave young men and women who serve in the Armed Forces of the United States of America.

Is it any wonder the recruiters are having to use all kinds of sneaky methods to try and sign someone up for the service? They even go so far as offering to give them a down payment on their house, and a $40,000 signing bonus to just to get them to put their name on the dotted line.

Who in their right mind would want to nothing but human cannon fodder in a war where you can't tell the enemy from the good guys because nobody wears a uniform except the US military, which makes them prime targets for the insurgents and terrorists.

And the worse is yet to come!

If you have been reading this blog, you know Muqtada al-Sadr and the head of Al Qaeda in Iraq are promising an all out bloodbath aimed at US troops---mostly in Baghdad. The attacks are expected to begin in two week, if not sooner.

General David Petraeus still lives in the delusional world that he is in charge of multi-national forces or the "coalition of the willing" in Iraq, but a quick run through the list of troops in Iraq indicates over 98 percent of the military personnel in Iraq are American soldiers or Marines.

There is no "coalition of the willing." That is another myth just like the myth that the "surge" has been a success when 55 Iraqis were KILLED on Sunday ALONE, and another 78 WOUNDED.

The link above provides a lot of information you will NEVER see in the mainstream media, and most of all on FOX NEWS, because they are all in bed with the Bush White House.

The Iraq War has become the second "Forgotten War." The Korean War was the first "Forgotten War."

I should know. I was a Cpl. (E-4), Squad Ldr, United States Army Combat Engineers and a Korean War veteran with an Honorable Discharge from the Armed Forces of the United States of America.

Incidentally, there is ONLY one person, Colin Powell, in the original Bush White House who took us to war that can claim they have an Honorable Discharge from the Armed Forces of the United States of America.

They all were too chicken to serve in the military or as Cheney did use six deferments to get out of the draft during the Vietnam War years.

Bill Corcoran, editor of CORKSPHERE at http://corksphere.blogspot.com/

ANOTHER "PEACEFUL" SUNDAY IN IRAQ: 75 KILLED, 58 WOUNDED

It was just another typical "peaceful" Sunday in Iraq. The "surge" was working like a charm because ONLY 75 Iraqis were KILLED, and ONLY 58 wounded. Condi Rice slipped into Baghdad in the cover of the night with all but the landing lights off on her plane, and then was rushed to the Green Zone while wearing a flak-jacket because "the surge" has been such a roaring success.

While Rice and Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki discussed the fate of Iraq inside the Green Zone, mortar shells and rockets slammed into the Green Zone and at one point Rice and al-Maliki had to be taken to a safer place to continue their talks about how "safte" Iraq has become since the "surge" was introduced by President Bush and General Petraeus.

Also while Rice and al-Maliki were patting each other on the back about how well the "surge" has worked, the rebel cleric Muqtada al-Sadr was preparing his Mehdi Army and suicide bombers for an allout attack on US forces in Baghdad. (see my post below for more details of the upcoming attack by al-Sadr and the Mehdi Army).

While rockets and mortars were screaming into the Green Zone and death was everywhere in Baghdad and across Iraq, Bush and his parrot FOX NEWS were once again LYING to the American public about how well the "surge" is working in Iraq.

Is it that Bush and FOX NEWS can't read, or is it that Bush and FOX NEWS are living in some horrible state of denial and can't face reality?

Probably both!.

Editorial comment by BILL CORCORAN, editor of CORKSPHERE.


Sunday: 75 Iraqis Killed, 58 Wounded

Updated at 6:30 p.m. EDT, April 20, 2008
http://www.antiwar.com/updates/?articleid=12715

Early reports from Sadr City and Baghdad suggest that fighting between the Mahdi army and security forces has increased. Meanwhile, a mass grave has been found near Muqdadiyah. At least 75 Iraqis were killed and another 58 were wounded in violence across Iraq. No Coalition deaths were reported.

A mass grave has been discovered near Muqdadiyah in a Hambes village orchard. This one contained at least 30 decomposed bodies. A second source reported 100 bodies. A third source reported a second grave was found as well.

A day after Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr warned the Iraqi government that he would end his unilateral cease-fire if the government does not stop harassing his followers, fighting in Sadr City and Baghdad has reportedly increased. Clashes continued in Sadr City, but also broke out in New Baghdad and Kubra al Ghizlan.

In Sadr City, nine gunmen were killed at a U.S. checkpoint during retaliatory gunfire. Three gunmen were killed when they were found planting a bomb. Eight more were killed in separate events. Hospital officials said four civilians and two boys were killed in overnight clashes. Another 22 people were wounded.

In Baghdad, a katyusha rocket wounded seven people in Abu Dsheer. Mortars landed on Qanat St. and Husseiniyah, but no casualties were reported. Mortars in Kadhimiya left two dead and 14 wounded. In New Baghdad, five people were injured during a roadside bombing. A bicycle bomb explosion in Abu Ghraib killed two people and wounded four more. Six dumped bodies were found.

Two people were killed and five were wounded during an IED explosion near Diwaniya.
Two contractors were found dead in Rashad.

In Muqdadiyah, an off-duty police officer and his driver were killed during a drive-by shooting. The officer's pregnant wife was wounded.

The Sinjar council official and his brother were found dead just hours after they were kidnapped from their home. Also, gunmen blew up a power plant.

Three minibuses carrying university students near Baquba were stopped and their drivers were kidnapped. In other report, nine students and a driver were kidnapped. A third report noted that Iraqi security forces freed some of the students
.
A weapons cache was found in Mosul.

Gunmen killed a police officer in Suleiman Beg.

CONFLICTING VIEWS ON IRAQ: CONDI RICE VS. MUQTADA AL-SADR

Rice praises Iraq unity as cleric threatens war

by Lachlan Carmichael 2 hours, 17 minutes ago

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080420/ts_afp/iraq

BAGHDAD (AFP) - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in a surprise visit to Baghdad on Sunday said Iraqi leaders were more united than ever, as Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr warned of a war against the government.

Rice also said that security in Iraq had improved but, during her stay in Baghdad's Green Zone, the heavily fortified area was rocked by an explosion which, according to a US official, could have been a rocket attack.

More than 60 people, including 40 Shiite fighters, were reported killed since Saturday in clashes with security forces, Iraqi and US officials said.

"I see a coalescing of a centre in Iraqi politics in which the Sunnis, the Kurdish leadership and the elements of the Shiite leadership that are not associated with these 'Special Groups' (alleged Iranian-backed Shiite groups) have been working better than at any time before," she said.
"It is indeed a moment of opportunity in Iraq thanks to the decision of the Iraqi prime minister and the unified Iraqi leadership."

The US military claims that "Special Groups", many of them from Sadr's feared Mahdi Army militia, are being trained by Iranian covert agents to fight American forces in Iraq.
Rice stopped in Baghdad before heading to Bahrain and then on to Kuwait for talks on a regional conference of Iraq's neighbours on Tuesday on the battered country's security.

Her visit comes a day after Sadr threatened to declare "open war" if the crackdown by Iraqi and US forces against his loyalists is not halted.

Rice gave a cautious response to Sadr's latest salvo which came as Iraqi and US forces battle Shiite militiamen, mostly from his Mahdi Army militia, in Baghdad's Sadr City and in the southern city of Basra.

"It's been very difficult to get a read of what his motivations are and what his intentions are," Rice said.
"I know he's living in Iran. I guess it's all-out war for everybody but him. His followers can go to their deaths and he will still be living in Iran. I don't know how seriously to take him or not."

THERE ARE INDICATIONS THE IRAQI PARLIAMENT WANTS THE US OUT OF IRAQ

Can Iraq's Parliament Fight Back?

By Maya Schenwar, TruthOut.orgPosted on April 18, 2008, Printed on April 20, 2008

http://www.alternet.org/story/82788/

A surprise announcement by Iraq's Cabinet on Monday opened up the possibility that resistance to a prolonged US occupation may come from a much-ignored source: the Iraqi Parliament.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's administration, moving into the third round of negotiations with the Bush administration over a "status of forces agreement" (SOFA) to establish a long-term US military and economic presence in Iraq, declared that the agreement must be approved by Parliament before it becomes law. Previously, Maliki had maintained that Parliamentary ratification was unnecessary.

Submitting the document to Parliament may not only hold up the process of getting it signed and sealed - it could also change the terms that govern the US presence in Iraq for years to come.
Since Maliki and President Bush released a "Declaration of Principles" in November spelling out their vision of postwar US-Iraqi relations, they've been immersed in closed-door deliberations on the specifics. During a long string of Congressional hearings, including last week's testimony from Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker, the Bush administration has reiterated that it does not plan to consult Congress before signing a SOFA. (It has indicated that it may do so for the other prong of its long-term agreement with Iraq - a nonbinding "strategic framework agreement" governing economic and political ties - but has made no commitment on that front.) Meanwhile, both countries' legislative branches have been vocally challenging their administrations on what they say is a broad overstepping of the bounds of executive power.

On the US side, that resistance has taken the shape of a series of House Foreign Affairs Committee hearings, investigating the constitutionality of an executive-only bilateral agreement that looks, for all intents and purposes, like a treaty - which is supposed to be ratified by two-thirds of the Senate. By calling it an "agreement" instead, the administration skirts that requirement.

On the Iraqi side, Parliamentarians have an even more solid case: the Iraqi Constitution requires legislative ratification of any international agreement.

If the Maliki administration does as it says and submits the SOFA to Parliament, it's sure to meet with roadblocks, according to Catherine Lutz, author of "The Bases of Empire: The Global Struggle against U.S. Military Posts."

"Opinion within the Parliament is much less US-friendly than in the executive branch," Lutz told Truthout. "Parliament could add amendments and changes to the agreement."

NEW VIDEO FROM REAL NEWS: WALLING OFF SADR CITY

In Sadr City's new wall, shadows of Gaza, VietnamAijaz Ahmad: Wall meant to partition Sadr City's residents is population control ahead of elections 17 hours ago view

http://therealnews.com/web/index.php

bio: Aijaz Ahmad context links As violence continued in Baghdad's Sadr City district on Friday, attention turned to the wall US forces are building through the neighborhood--a wall that is reminiscent of the one Israel built around the Palestinian territories, as well as US military tactics used during the Vietnam War.

The Real News analyst Aijaz Ahmad says that the ostensible purpose of the Iraqi government's wall--to keep insurgents under control--is only part of the story. Ahmad tells The Real News that it is meant to be a form of "population control" ahead of this year's elections, which the Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, a vocal opponent of the US occupation, is expected to sweep. The result of the decision to build the wall is the transformation of an entire Baghdad neighborhood into a virtual prison, Ahmad says.

REUTERS: RICE'S VISIT TO BAGHDAD DOESN'T STOP VIOLENCE WHICH SPIRALS OUT OF CONTROL

The surprise visit of Secetary of State Condoleezea Rice to Iraq did nothing to halt the violence as it spirals out of control. Rockets hit the Green Zone where Rice was meeting with Iraqi officials.

Rice in Iraq, violence surges after Sadr threat
By Sue Pleming 1 hour, 19 minutes ago
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/iraq_dc;_ylt=AqCRU0pbB9Fwdq58UA33N41X6GMA

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice backed Iraq's crackdown on militias in a visit on Sunday to Baghdad, where the worst fighting in weeks erupted after Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr threatened all-out war.
Rockets blasted the fortified Green Zone compound where Rice met Iraqi officials and praised their month-old campaign against Sadr's followers.
She had harsh words for the reclusive cleric, who on the eve of Rice's visit vowed "open war" if the crackdown continues. Sadr has not appeared in public in Iraq in nearly a year.
"He is still living in Iran. I guess it's all out war for anybody but him," Rice told reporters. "His followers can go to their death and he will still be in Iran."
A military spokesman said U.S. forces had killed 20 fighters overnight in a series of gunbattles and helicopter missile strikes in Sadr City, the east Baghdad slum that is a stronghold of Sadr's militia.
"I would say it's been the hottest night in a couple of weeks," the spokesman, Lieutenant-Colonel Steven Stover said.
Arriving on an unannounced visit, Rice met Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and said she wanted to support what she called a new political "centre" in Iraq that has backed Maliki's anti-militia campaign.
"It is indeed a moment of opportunity in Iraq thanks to the courageous decisions taken by the prime minister and a unified Iraqi leadership," Rice said in brief televised remarks with President Jalal Talabani after they held talks.
A rebellion by Sadr's Mehdi Army militia -- whose tens of thousands of black-masked fighters control the streets in many Shi'ite areas -- could abruptly end a period of lower violence at a time when some U.S. forces are starting to leave Iraq.

CNN REPORTS: MUQTADA A-SADR TO US: "BACK OFF OR ALL OPTIONS ARE OPEN"

While Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice makes a surprise visit to Baghdad, the rebel cleric Muqutada al-Sadr has issued a warning to the the US to "back off or all options are open."

Iraqi lawmaker to U.S.: Back off or 'all options are open'
Story Highlights
NEW: U.S. military shuts down Green Zone as Condoleezza Rice arrives
Lawmaker: U.S. launching "dirty" political conspiracy against Shiite cleric
Speaker calls on fighters to "offer the head of an American as a gift" to Bush
Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr threatens "war" against Iraqi government

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/04/20/iraq.main/index.html

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- An Iraqi lawmaker warned the U.S. military Sunday that if it doesn't immediately end its attacks on Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi Army, "all options are open to us."
Fawzi Tarzi, a Sadrist member of parliament, made his remarks as U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made an unannounced visit to Baghdad. His comments also follow airstrikes and firefights Saturday that left seven Shiite militants dead in Baghdad's Sadr City.
"Let it be known that disbanding the Mehdi Army will mean the end of [Prime Minister Nuri] al-Maliki's government, and therefore the siege of Sadr City and Shula should end immediately or all options are open to us," Tarzi said. "There is a fierce military and media campaign and a dirty political conspiracy planned and supported by the occupier against the Sadr trend."
Sadr City has been the scene of many clashes in recent weeks between U.S. and Iraqi security forces and the Mehdi Army.
Tarzi called on humanitarian organizations and the world media to visit Sadr City to see what he described as a "humanitarian tragedy." The Baghdad neighborhood is plagued with "random airstrikes and raids," which are causing a deteriorating humanitarian situation, he said.
More than 400 people have died and 1,300 have been wounded in the attacks, Tarzi said, citing hospital figures.
Al-Sadr on Saturday gave his "last warning" to the Iraqi government that he would "declare a war" unless U.S. and Iraqi forces stop their assaults on his followers.
Loudspeakers at Sadr City mosques announced al-Sadr's warning Saturday evening, calling for followers to fight the "occupier," a witness said.
According to the Interior Ministry, Saturday's Sadr City clashes killed nine Iraqis and wounded 15 others.
The Interior Ministry said Sadr City clashes continued into Sunday morning.
Al-Sadr's threat was issued the same day that a man claiming to be the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq urged his fighters to launch an offensive against U.S. forces in the next few weeks.
The speaker was identified as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, also known as Abu Ayyub al-Masri, on several Islamist Web sites that posted the recording.
Within the the next month, militants should "offer the head of an American as a gift to the deceitful [President] Bush," he said.
The speaker also called for attacks on members of Iraqi awakening councils, a movement of mostly Sunnis who have joined forces with the U.S. and Iraqi governments in battling Islamic jihadists loyal to al Qaeda in Iraq.
The U.S. military shut down the International Zone on Sunday after U.S. officials announced Rice's arrival. Rice met with Iraqi leaders and U.S. officials in the heavily fortified district that houses U.S. and Iraqi governmental offices.
The military said it was shutting down the area, also known as the Green Zone, for "force protection purposes."
Witnesses said they saw vehicles being turned away from checkpoints near the zone.
Rice had announced she would depart Saturday for Bahrain and then on to Kuwait for Tuesday's Iraqi neighbors conference.
Other developments
• Gunmen set up a fake checkpoint Sunday and ambushed a minivan carrying college students in the northern city of Baquba. The gunmen shot and killed one person and wounded two others, Baquba police said. They kidnapped three students and a driver, police said.
• Authorities imposed a curfew in Nasiriya on Saturday after sporadic clashes killed four police officers and 16 militia members, an Interior Ministry official said.

2 US SOLDIERS, 95 IRAQIS KILLED, 195 IRAQIS WOUNDED IN ONE DAY ALONE IN IRAQ

Is there still some moron out there who believes the "surge" is working? If so, get the net for the poor mope before he hurts himself or somebody else.

This is proof positive the "surge" is a myth perpetrated on the American public by General Petraeus, President Bush and, of course, the Bush talking parrot, FOX NEWS.


Saturday: 2 US Soldiers, 95 Iraqis Killed; 185 Iraqis Wounded
Updated at 12:05 a.m. EDT, April 20, 2008

http://www.antiwar.com/updates/?articleid=12714

At least 95 Iraqis were killed and 183 were wounded in the latest attacks. Many were killed or injured in Sadr City where fighting between the Mahdi army and security forces continues.

Two American soldiers were killed in separate incidents. Meahwhile, the Australians are delaying their withdrawal, while civil war is breaking out between Sunni factions.

One American soldier was killed when an IED exploded yesterday in Salah ad Din province. The DOD reported the death of an American soldier the day before in Sama village during a small arms attack.

Police in Sadr City reported receiving 12 bodies and treating 71 people for injuries during overnight clashes between the Mahdi army and security forces. Hospital officials said they treated of 130 people for injuries. Late in the day, rockets hit the Sadr Hospital, but the number of casualties was not reported. Health officials did report that three women were killed and 40 others were wounded in today's clashes.

In Baghdad, two gunmen were also killed during an airstrike. A mortar killed one person last night on al-Nidhal Street. During security operations, 12 Iraqi soldiers were killed and 39 were wounded, while 12 gunmen were killed and 18 more were detained. Gunmen wounded and Interior Ministry official. One dead body was found.

The heaviest fighting in weeks was reported in Basra, only a day after Iraqi security forces harassed Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's followers. No casualties were reported, but government forces claim to have captured Hayaniya, which is a Mahdi army stronghold; however, the militia observed a unilateral cease-fire and offered no resistance. A spokesman from Sadr's office called the humanitarian situation in the neighborhood, "tragic."

Sixteen decapitated bodies were found in a state of decomposition in Diwaniyah.
In Mosul, a roadside bomb killed two and wounded 12 others. Two dumped bodies were found. Gunmen wounded three people during a drive-by shooting. Also, an IED killed one civilian and wounded five more this afternoon.

In Kirkuk, one person was killed and four were wounded during a car bombing. In Tirkalan, a roadside bomb killed a policeman and wounded two more.

A firefight near Nassiriya in Suq al-Shiyoukh left 20 gunmen, four security personnel and one civilian dead. One gunman and two security personnel were injured.

A body was found in Mussayab.

Eight suspects were arrested in Karbala.
In Arbil, a journalist was killed reportedly over a family dispute.

Also, 40 families were who were forcibly relocated from Khalis have returned home.
A child was killed and three others were wounded during a roadside bombing in Baquba.

Twenty-two suspects were detained in Mosul and Baiji.
The official spokesman for Ninewah security operations survived an assassination attempt unscathed.

NEW YORK TIMES AND REUTERS: EXCLUSIVE REPORT ON HOW TV MILITARY ANALYSTS HAVE TIES TO PENTAGON

We've known it for several years, but you couldn't get anyone to listen. The cable news networks have hired "military analysts" who are making money off the war as lobbyists or sit on the Board of some of the biggest defense contractors.

The New York Times in their Sunday newspaper exposes the former military officers who go on TV as impartial observers of the war, but in reality are working for defense contractors or have strong ties to the Pentagon.

It is expected that more former military officers will be revealed in the days and weeks to come as working for the various cable news outlets as "military experts" when in reality they are making a killing off the war.

NYT: U.S. military groomed TV analysts
Paper: Extensive ideological, business ties raise issue of manipulation
Reuters
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24220130/ Click on this link to read the full story New York Times story: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/washington/20generals.html?_r=1&ref=worldspecial&oref=slogin

updated 11:50 p.m. CT, Sat., April. 19, 2008

NEW YORK - Many U.S. military analysts used as commentators on Iraq by television networks have been groomed by the Pentagon, leaving some feeling they were manipulated to report favorably on the Bush administration, The New York Times said in Sunday editions.

A Times report examining ties between the Bush administration and former senior officers who acted as paid TV analysts said they got private briefings, trips and access to classified intelligence meant to influence their comments.

"Records and interviews show how the Bush administration has used its control over access and information in an effort to transform the analysts into a kind of media Trojan horse — an instrument intended to shape terrorism coverage from inside the major TV and radio networks," the newspaper said.

The Pentagon defended its work with the analysts, saying they were given only accurate information.

Ties to military contractorsMany of the commentators also have ties to military contractors who are vested in U.S. war efforts, but those business links are seldom disclosed to viewers, and sometimes not even to the networks on which they appear, the newspaper said.

President George W. Bush has been engaged in a long struggle to halt a drain in public support for the Iraq war, in which more than 4,000 American soldiers have died, and to boost support for his post September 11 war against terrorism.

One case cited by the Times was in the summer of 2005, when accusations were rife over human rights violations at the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay on Cuba, where foreign terrorism suspects are held.

The Times said administration communications officials flew a group of retired military officers to the camp on a jet normally used by Vice President Dick Cheney to give their side of the case. Many in the group have subsequently appeared as commentators on the TV networks.

The Times quoted Robert Bevelacqua, a retired Green Beret and former Fox News analyst, as saying, "It was them (the Bush administration) saying, 'We need to stick our hands up your back and move your mouth for you.'"
'I felt we'd been hosed'Kenneth Allard, a former NBC military analyst who taught information warfare at the National Defense University, told the Times the campaign amounted to a "coherent, active," sophisticated information operation.

As the situation in Iraq deteriorated, he saw a gap between what analysts were told in private briefings and what subsequently was revealed in inquiries and books.
"Night and day," he told the Times. "I felt we'd been hosed."
Some analysts said they had suppressed doubts about the situation in Iraq for fear of jeopardizing their access.

Many others, however, denied having been co-opted or allowing their business interests to affect their on-air work, while some said they had recused themselves from coverage that touched on business interests, the Times report said.

Report mentions NBC analystsThe Times cited several examples involving NBC News analysts. (Msnbc.com is a joint venture of NBC Universal and Microsoft.)
The newspaper said NBC analyst Montgomery Meigs, a retired Army general, reported favorably on the U.S. military detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, after the military flew analysts there for a carefully choreographed visit in June 2005.

The Times said that two NBC analysts, Barry R. McCaffrey and the late Wayne A. Downing, were on the advisory board of the Committee for the Liberation of Iraq, which the paper described as an advocacy group created with White House encouragement in 2002 to make the case for overthrowing Saddam Hussein. The Times said the men were on the boards of major military contractors.

It quoted Rick Francona, an NBC analyst, as saying that he didn't think the network was aware that he was participating in frequent briefings the Pentagon conducts with selected military analysts.
The newspaper said NBC News declined to discuss how it hires and monitors military analysts. The Times quoted the network as saying in a short statement: “We have clear policies in place to assure that the people who appear on our air have been appropriately vetted and that nothing in their profile would lead to even a perception of a conflict of interest.”

8,000 pages of documentsThe Times said it based much of its report on 8,000 pages of e-mail messages, transcripts and records it secured by suing the Defense Department and which it said described years of private briefings, trips and what it called "an extensive Pentagon talking points operation."

It said Pentagon documents referred 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."

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman defended the Defense Department's work with military analysts, saying they were given only factual information about the war.
"The intent and purpose of this is nothing other than an earnest attempt to inform the American people," he told the Times, adding it was "a bit incredible" to think retired military officers could be "wound up" and used as "puppets of the Defense Department."

CNN: AL QAEDA IN IRAQ CALLS FOR GIANT ATTACK ON US FORCES

Story Highlights
NEW: Speaker calls on fighters to "offer the head of an American as a gift" to Bush
NEW: Speaker also calls for attacks on members of Iraqi awakening councils
Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr threatens "war" against Iraqi government
Al-Sadr turns Basra offices over to Iraqi Security Forces

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A man claiming to be the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq mocked the death toll of American troops and urged his fighters to launch an offensive against U.S. forces in the next few weeks

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/04/19/iraq.main/index.html

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The speaker was identified as Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, also known as Abu Ayyub al-Masri, on several Islamist Web sites that posted the recording.

"The reason I give this speech is that the enemy declared -- even though it might be lying -- that its death toll in Iraq has reached 4,000," he said.
"So we call upon our heroes ... to ask every group within a month from the time it hears this, to offer the head of an American as a gift to the deceitful [President] Bush," he continued.

As of Saturday, 4,036 U.S. troops had died in the Iraq war.

The speaker also called for attacks on members of Iraqi awakening councils, a movement of predominantly Sunnis who have joined forces with the U.S. and Iraqi governments in battling Islamic jihadists loyal to al Qaeda in Iraq.

Also Saturday, radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr threatened to "declare a war" unless U.S. and Iraqi forces stop their assaults on his followers.
"I'm giving the last warning and words to the Iraqi government," al-Sadr said in a statement on a loyalist's Web site.
"They should take the road of peace and drop the violence that they use with their people. Otherwise, they will be like the destructive [Saddam Hussein] government."

The cleric also assailed the United States, saying, "From the other side, the occupier made us targets for his planes, tanks, mortars and his deceptive policy by demanding me not to stand against the Iraqi government, which -- if it weren't for us -- it would not exist.
"It is like the occupier would ignore the fact that his army is standing against the government, to prevent it from being an independent government with full sovereignty."
The warning was a reminder of al-Sadr's bloody rebellions in 2004 against U.S. forces in Najaf and Baghdad.

Al-Sadr recently renewed for six months the cease-fire he imposed in August on his Mehdi Army militia, a move that the U.S. military has credited with helping reduce violence across Iraq.
But an uprising like the one al-Sadr threatened Saturday would ultimately fuel inter-Shiite fighting through Sadr City and other Shiite communities.

Intense fighting between Iraqi security forces and al-Sadr's Mehdi Army continued Saturday in the southern city of Nasiriya and in Sadr City, the cleric's Baghdad stronghold.
Twelve people were killed in overnight fighting Friday into Saturday between Iraqi security forces and the Mehdi Army in Sadr City, an Interior Ministry official said. Six dozen people were wounded.

In Nasiriya, sporadic clashes spilled into Saturday, leaving four police officers and 16 militia members dead, the ministry official confirmed. The clashes prompted authorities to impose a curfew in the city Saturday.
In another southern city, Diwanyia, which witnessed deadly fighting between Iraqi forces and the Mehdi Army last month, officials discovered 14 decapitated bodies. An interior ministry official said the bodies appear to be a few days old.
Meanwhile, Iraqi troops began a new phase of the security operation launched March 25 by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, dubbed Charge of the Knights. The operation aims to clear militants from their strongholds in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, a spokesman for the British army said.