WE HAVE NAMES AND INFO ON LATEST U.S. CASUALTIES IN IRAQ

The following is a list of names or information on U.S. casualties from the Iraq war as confirmed by the Department of Defense (DOD). Click on name or details for more information:

Latest Coalition Fatalities
Source: http://icasualties.org/oif/

06/24/08 MNF: 3 Soldiers killed by attacked by IED in Ninewah Province
Three Multi-National Division - North Soldiers and an interpreter were killed in an improvised explosive device attack in Ninewah Province at 10:45 p.m., June 24.

06/24/08 DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Staff Sgt. Du Hai Tran, 30, of Reseda, Calif.,died Jun. 20 in Baqubah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit while on patrol during combat operations. He was assigned to the Fires Squadron...

06/24/08 MNF: Two Soldiers, 2 civilians killed in Sadr City explosion
Two Coalition forces soldiers and two civilians serving with Coalition forces were killed after an explosion inside the District Advisory Council building in a southern neighborhood of Sadr City district at approximately 9:30 a.m. today.

06/23/08 MNF: Second soldier dies from small arms fire attack near Salman Pak
A Multi-National Division - Center Soldier was killed as a result of a small arms fire attack near Salman Pak, Iraq June 23...The Soldier was the second of two killed by the same attack.[url pending]
06/23/08 AP: American soldier killed, 5 others wounded in Iraq
The U.S. military says an American soldier has been killed and five others wounded southeast of Baghdad. The military says the soldiers were hit Monday by small-arms fire in an attack near Madain.

CNN REPORTS: U.S. TRAINS IRAQI WOMEN TO FIND FEMALE SUICIDE BOMBERS

U.S. trains Iraqi women to find female suicide bombers
Story Highlights
Halfway through 2008, the number of female suicide bombers is 20
"Daughters of Iraq" trains Iraqi women to find female suicide bombers
Women will work two or three days a month, making up to $300

http://tinyurl.com/4xzg5h

YUSUFIYA, Iraq (CNN) -- Female suicide bombers, who often slip through security checkpoints untouched because of cultural norms, are taking a more deadly toll than ever across Iraq.
But the U.S. Army has created a solution with "Daughters of Iraq," a program that trains Iraqi women to find female suicide bombers.

Women carried out eight bombings in all of 2007, according to the U.S. military. Halfway through 2008, the number of female suicide bombers is 20. A suicide attack carried out by a woman on Sunday in Baquba killed at least 16 people and wounded another 40.

"Daughters of Iraq" is a spinoff of "Sons of Iraq," which employs Iraqi men to run checkpoints and is credited with taking much of the steam out of the insurgency.

The goal of the women's program is twofold: to protect against female suicide bombers, and to provide much-needed income to Iraqi women with few chances for employment.

In the town of Yusufiya, southwest of Baghdad, some 30 women are being trained to search other females at security checkpoints -- something men are forbidden to do under Iraqi cultural norms.

In mid-May, a female suicide bomber killed an Iraqi army officer in this town.
"When he came out to meet her to help her with a problem she was having, she detonated the vest and killed him and injured some of his soldiers," said Michael Starz, a U.S. Army captain.
The women will work two or three days a month, making up to $300, an Iraqi military officer explained to applicants. In a community, where families struggle to survive, that's good money. Watch how "Daughters of Iraq" works »

The women come from small farming communities. Many of them are widows with numerous children and almost no income.

Click here http://tinyurl.com/4xzg5h for full CNN story.

ATTN: FOX NEWS' BRIT HUME AND LAURA INGRAHAM: SUICIDE BOMBER KILLS 2 AND INJURES 70 IN MOSUL

Both BRIT HUME and LAURA INGRAHAM of FOX NEWS are still singing about how well things are going in MOSUL, IRAQ while at the same time denying on Tuesday a suicide bomber killed two and injured 70 in MOSUL (see story below)

Also, the following incidents took place in MOSUL and were again somehow overlooked by BRIT HUME and LAURA INGRAHAM who kept bragging about how well things are going in MOSUL:

Mosul:#1: U.S. soldiers killed three people of the same family and arrested two other members in a raid on a house in western Mosul on Tuesday, police said. "The house raided by the U.S. forces was in al-Uraibi neighborhood, western Mosul. The raiding troops killed three and detained two, all members of the same family, without any apparent reason," the source, who asked not to be named, told Aswat al-Iraq.

#2: Unidentified gunmen kidnapped four Mosul University students while heading for their final exams in the western part of the city on Tuesday, police said. "Unknown gunmen boarding two civilian vehicles kidnapped four University Mosul students, residents of al-Anbar province, in al-Shifaa neighborhood, western Mosul, on Tuesday," the source, who asked not to have his name mentioned, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq. "The kidnappers released two of the four a short while later."

#3: Militants shot dead an off-duty police lieutenant studying law in the University of Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, as he left the campus, police said.

#4: Police found the body of a tax department employee, who had been shot, in western Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

And the breaking news on Tuesday that BRIT HUME and LAURA INGRAHAM of FOX NEWS apparently missed in their "extensive research" on MOSUL, IRAQ was this:

Breaking News: Iraq: Suicide car bomber kills 2 people, wounds 70 in Mosul http://tinyurl.com/3q3h56

Breaking News: Iraq: Suicide car bomber kills 2 people, wounds 70 in Mosul

http://tinyurl.com/3q3h56 or this link http://www.gmanews.tv/story/103094/Iraq-Suicide-car-bomber-kills-2-people-wounds-70-in-Mosul

Even with ALL this documented evidence that things are not that "rosy" in MOSUL, IRAQ, both FOX NEWS BRIT HUME AND LAURA INGRAHAM continue to LIE, LIE, LIE to the Americian public through their respective shows, "FOX NEWS SPECIAL REPORT" and "FOX NEWS JUST IN."

CNN BREAKING NEWS: TWO U.S. SOLDIERS KILLED IN SADR CITY AND TWO AMERICAN CIVILIANS:VIOLENCE ERUPTS IN MOSUL AFTER "ROSY" REPORT BY BRIT HUME

U.S. Embassy staff, soldiers killed in Baghdad blast

One American soldier was killed and three more were wounded during a small arms attack just outside Baghdad in Madaen on Monday. One gunman was killed and an Iraqi interpreter was wounded. The soldiers were attending a local council meeting when a disgruntled official opened fire on them.

In Mosul, gunmen killed a policeman and a woman; two civilians were also wounded. A university student was killed in a drive-by shooting. An off-duty policeman was shot dead while at a market. Three Iraqi soldiers were wounded as they were trying to defuse a bomb. A bomb exploded near an army patrol, wounding an Iraqi soldier and five civilians. Also, two suspects were arrested and a weapons cache was confiscated.

The Mosul attacks came on the same day FOX NEWS' BRIT HUME ran a report on his "SPECIAL REPORT" claiming violence had been brought under control in MOSUL.

Story Highlights
Official: Civilians include U.S. State and Defense Department employees
Military says it caught fleeing suspect who "tested positive for explosive residue"
Blast comes day after gunmen kill local political leader in Baghdad Shiite enclave
U.S. military will transfer security responsibilities in Anbar province to Iraqi military

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- An explosion rocked a municipal building Tuesday in Baghdad's Sadr City neighborhood, killing six Iraqis, two U.S. soldiers and two civilian U.S. Embassy employees, officials said.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/06/24/iraq.main/index.html

The U.S. military said troops detained a suspect in connection with the attack. The person was captured "fleeing the scene and tested positive for explosive residue," the military said.

The embassy official said the American civilians include "a direct hire civilian employee of the Department of State and a Department of Defense civilian employee."

The blast occurred during a meeting of the district advisory council in Sadr City, and U.S. troops were in the area, an Iraqi Interior Ministry official said. The groups are neighborhood councils that assess local needs and pass on their assessments to the provincial government.

"We believe the target of the attack was a high-ranking [district advisory council] member as well as the U.S. soldiers," said Lt. Col. Steve Stover, a U.S. military spokesman.

An Interior Ministry official said six Iraqis were killed and 10 were wounded in the attack, including the deputy head of the council -- who was seriously injured.

The U.S. military confirmed the deaths, saying an American-led coalition soldier and three council members also were wounded. There have been 4,106 U.S. service members killed since the Iraq war began.

The military blamed Iranian-backed militants that U.S. officials call Special Groups for Tuesday's attack.

"We believe the Special Groups criminals were upset that the DAC member was working with coalition forces to improve the quality of life for the southern Sadr City residents," Stover said.

The explosion follows a Pentagon report issued Monday that touted a sharp decrease in violence in Iraq in recent months.

Sadr City is the stronghold of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and has seen some of the capital's most intense fighting between Shiite militia members and security forces.

Al-Sadr recently announced his intention to develop a fighting force that would battle U.S.-led forces in Iraq.

A truce was reached last month between the government and al-Sadr's followers, ending weeks of fighting and allowing the Iraqi army to enter Sadr City, but violence persists.

Tuesday's blast comes after gunmen stormed the house of the head of Abu Dsheer City Council on Monday night and fatally shot him.

Mehdi Alwan was an al-Sadr supporter. Abu Dsheer is a Shiite enclave in southern Baghdad's predominantly Sunni Dora district.

NEW VIDEO: TV NETWORKS SPEND ONLY TWO MINUTES A WEEK ON IRAQ WAR: CBS' LARA LOGAN AND THE REAL NEWS NETWORKS' PEPE ESCOBAR REPORT

Iraq story buried by US networks

Major networks spend only 2 minutes per week on Iraq war coverage; Lara Logan of CBS joins critiqueIraq story buried by US networks

The Real News Network's Pepe Escobar and CBS' Chief Foreign Correspondent Lara Logan are seen on this NEW video talking about how the television networks in the United States spend only TWO MINUTES A WEEK on the IRAQ WAR.

Watch VIDEO here: http://therealnews.com/t/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=1770

SHOCKING VIDEO: IRAQ FOR SALE: BLACKWATER USA

Most of us have heard about BLACKWATER,USA the security firm that has millions of dollars in contracts to carry out security services in Iraq.

This video provides an insiders look at just how BLACKWATER, USA operates and how they have turned an illegal war into a huge profit making venture.

While the mainstream media focuses on whether we should drill for oil off the coast of U.S. or in Alaska, or whether health care should be provided to ALL American citizens, the U.S. government is shelling out millions of dollars to BLACKWATER, USA to provide security for U.S. contractors like Halliburton and KBR who already are making big bucks off the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

It is also important to remember Vice President Dick Cheney was CEO for HALLIBURTON and its subsidiary KBR before returning to politics.

Watch this eye-opening VIDEO here: http://www.youtube.com/v/N83BdpNPvgw&hl=en

GUNMAN IN IRAQ KILLS 2 U.S. SOLDIERS, WOUNDS 4

BAGHDAD - A disgruntled local official opened fire Monday on U.S. soldiers attending a municipal council meeting southeast of Baghdad, killing two of them and wounding four other Americans, U.S. and Iraqi officials said.

Gunman in Iraq kills 2 American soldiers, wounds 4
By ROBERT H. REID, Associated Press Writer Mon Jun 23, 4:18 PM ET
http://tinyurl.com/3sgycg

The assailant died in a hail of gunfire after the attack, which occurred in the town of Madain, also known as Salman Pak, about 15 miles south of Baghdad in an area with a history of Sunni-Shiite tension.

U.S. officials confirmed two American soldiers died and that four Americans, including a civilian interpreter, were wounded.

Iraqi police and witnesses said the attack took place in front of the Madain municipal building where the Americans had come to confer with local authorities.

U.S. officials said the Americans were leaving the building when the assailant opened fire about 1 p.m. However, the U.S. officials released no further details except that the assailant was killed.
"The attacker came out of his car with an AK-47 rifle in his hand and started firing on the American soldiers until he was killed by the return fire," said Hussein al-Dulaimi, 37, who owns an agricultural machine shop across the street.

Al-Dulaimi, other residents and a police official said the attacker had been a Sunni member of the municipal council until he was ousted by Shiites during sectarian violence following the February 2006 bombing of a Shiite shrine north of Baghdad.

But the Interior Ministry said the gunman was still an active council member.
The motive for the attack was unclear, and ministry officials were investigating whether the gunman had ties to Sunni insurgents.

The Madain area was a center of Saddam Hussein's biological and chemical weapons program. It also includes the tomb of Salman al-Farsi, a companion of the Prophet Muhammad.
The tomb has been the source of sectarian tension in recent years, with both Sunni and Shiite religious organizations competing for control of the shrine, which used to draw pilgrims from across the Muslim world.

Click here for rest of story: http://tinyurl.com/3sgycg

CBS' LARA LOGAN TELLS "DAILY SHOW" SOLDIERS IN IRAQ FEEL FORGOTTEN: PLUS VIDEO OF LOGAN RIPPING INTO FOX NEWS' LAURA INGRAHAM. DON'T MISS THESE 2 VIDS

Lara Logan is the Chief Foreign Correspondent for the CBS News and she recently appeared on the Comedy Central "Daily Show" hosted by John Stewart. Logan, who has spent years in Iraq and Afghanistan, talks about how the bosses at the network try to avoid putting on anything that has to do with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Logan told Stewart the soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan "feel forgotten."

Logan's appearance on the "Daily Show" received a good deal of media attention because she used a expletive deleted word to describe how the network bosses treat stories coming out of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Logan, who is stunningly beautiful, describes how she breaks the ice with troops when she climbs into a Humvee to go out on patrol in a war zone.

Watch the video here:

http://www.youtube.com/v/M8skwVT6jWk&hl=en

And watch the video of Lara Logan dish it out to Howard Kurtz of CNN's "Reliable Sources" by explaining to Kurtz how she can't report stories about Iraq rebuilding because it will bring on attacks on the project.

Logan also rips into Laura Ingraham, who now has her own show on FOX NEWS called "Just In," for saying reporters like Logan sit on a balcony in Iraq and report on the war. I doubt if Ingraham would ever have Logan on her idiotic show after hearing what Logan has to say about her.

Watch the video here:

http://www.youtube.com/v/6I420_fPM2E&hl=en

BREAKING NEWS: MORE DEATHS OF U.S. TROOPS AND MORE VIOLENCE IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN

The mainstream media doesn't want you to know about any of this, but we feel it is our duty to the thousands of young Americans serving in Iraq and Afghanistan to tell the TRUTH about what is happening in Iraq and Afghanistan. For more information on each U.S. death and each incident of violence, click on the name or subject highlighted in BLUE.

War News for Monday, June 23, 2008
MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a Coalition Force soldier (Multi-National Division – North) in three roadside bomb attacks on Coalition force patrols in Diyala province.. Five other soldier were wounded in the attacks.

IC Publications is reporting the death of a U.S. soldier from small arms fire in Madain Iraq on Monday, June 23rd. Five additional soldiers were wounded in the attack as reported by the U.S. military.CJTF-101 is reporting the deaths of four coalition soldiers from an IED attack in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan on Saturday, June 21st.

Two other soldiers were wounded in the attack.NATO is reporting the death of one ISAF soldier from an IED attack in Paktika Province, Afghanistan on Saturday, June 21st. Four additional soldiers were wounded in the attack.

Nowe Media is reporting the soldier is from the Polish contingency was an officer and the attack was 40 kilometres from Wazi Khwa base.CJTF-101 is reporting the death of a coalition soldier in an IED attack while conducting combat operations in Farah province, Afghanistan on Friday, June 20th. Two other soldiers and one Afghani civilian were wounded in the attack.CJTF-101 is reporting the death of a coalition service member in a suicide attack and small arms fire in Helmand province, Afghanistan on Friday, June 20th. One Afghani civilian was killed in the attack.

The DoD is reporting a new death previously unreported by CENTCOM. Hospitalman Dustin Kelby Burnett. He died while conducting combat operations in Farah Province, Afghanistan on Friday, June 20th. No other details were released.

PNC News is reporting the death of a civilian security company personal. Christopher Quitugua died in a convoy accident in Iraq on an undisclosed date. No other details were released. According to Pacific Daily News Christopher Quitugua's grandparents, Albert A. Quitugua and Maria C. Quitugua, their grandson and three others were in a vehicle in a convoy when a tire blowout caused the vehicle to flip.OIF/OEF fatalities.

PDFJune 20 airpower summary:June 21 airpower summary:A Sunni legislator said on Monday that the security agreement to be signed between Baghdad and Washington would allow the latter to attack any country from Iraqi territories. "The Iraqi-U.S. agreement contains several items that impinge upon the sovereignty of Iraq, including the right of the U.S. forces in Iraq to attack any nation and raid any Iraqi house and arrest people without prior permission from the Iraqi government," Khalaf al-Alyan, a member of parliament from the Iraqi Accordance Front (IAF), told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq.

Reporters Say Networks Block War Reportsvideo: Afghanistan: Lost in translation

Reported Security incidents:Baghdad:#1: A roadside bomb targeted a National Police patrol in Waziriyah, near the cotton wool plant intersection at 11.30 a.m. Monday, injuring three policemen.
#2: A roadside bomb targeted a US military convoy in Qahira, near the water reservoir at noon. No casualties were reported.
#3: A roadside bomb targeted a US military convoy in Salahuddin Square, Kathimiyah neighbourhood at around noon. No casualties were reported.
#4: A roadside bomb targeted a US military convoy in Adil neighbourhood at around 1 p.m. No casualties were reported.
Diyala Prv:#1: At least 10 people were killed when insurgents fired off a spate of mortar rounds which fell on houses in Iraq's restive province of Diyala, officials told AFP on Monday. The projectiles, fired during the night in the town of Al-Adhaim, were apparently aimed at the police headquarters and the mayor's office but fell instead on people's homes, a government security official said. The mortars killed at least 10 people and wounded around 20, the official added. The attack was confirmed by Abdul Jabbar al-Obeidi, mayor of Adhaim, which is about 70 kilometres (43 miles) north of the provincial capital Baquba.

Kut:#1: A woman was wounded when a mortar shell landed in the heart of al-Nasr neighborhood, western Kut, on Monday, police said. "The woman was rushed to a hospital from the mortar shell of 120 mm., which also damaged a civilian vehicle," a security source, who requested anonymity, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq. "The shell perhaps targeted the Delta base, where the Multi-National Force (MNF) troops are stations in Wassit," the source said, adding the police started to investigate the incident.The Delta base is 15 km western Kut city.

Mosul:#1: A suicide car bomb attacked a police patrol in the city of Mosul, the capital of Nineveh province, wounding 14 people, including 4 policemen, a provincial police source said on Monday. The attack occurred late on Sunday in the al-Wihda neighborhood in southern Mosul, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

#2: Three Iraqi army servicemen, including an officer in the rank of major, were wounded while trying to dismantle an improvised explosive device (IED) in northern Mosul on Monday, an official army source said. The IED went off while a bomb squad was trying to defuse it in al-Rashidiya neighborhood, seriously wounding Maj. Fakher Braori, the commander of the Iraqi army's 3rd contingent, 8th Brigade, and two other soldiers," the source told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq. "Maj. Braori lost a hand and a leg," the source said, adding the wounded were rushed to a hospital for treatment. He did not give further information on the incident.

#3: A policeman and a woman were killed and two civilians were wounded in an armed attack in western Mosul, a security source said on Monday. "Unidentified gunmen opened fire on a police checkpoint in Mosul al-Jadida region in western Mosul, killing one policeman and a woman and injuring two more, including a child," the source told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq.

#4: Gunmen killed a university student in a drive-by shooting in northern Mosul, police said.#5: Gunmen killed an off-duty policemen at a market in western Mosul, police said.

Al Anbar Prv:#1: The U.S. military will transfer control of security in Iraq's Anbar province to Iraqi forces this week.

Afghanistan:#1: The U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan says it has killed 55 militants in the east of the country.A coalition statement said the battle took place on Friday in Paktika province, which borders Pakistan. It said militants ambushed a patrol with rocket and gun fire, prompting troops to fire back and call in warplanes.
#2: Suspected pro-Taliban Militants kidnapped 17 Pakistani policemen from posts on the road through the Khyber Pass, the latest insecurity on the vital supply route for Western forces in Afghanistan. Militants attacked four checkposts on the winding road through the pass that leads to the Afghan border on Sunday night, kidnapping the policemen and wounding one in a brief exchange of fire, a senior government official in the region said. "Our 17 khasadar are missing," said the official in Landikotal, the main town in the Khyber region, referring to members of special police forces raised in ethnic Pashtun tribal agencies.
#3: An Afghan official says police and U.S.-led forces attacked militants planting a roadside bomb in eastern Afghanistan and one insurgent and two civilians were killed. Zalmay Dadak, mayor of Khogyani district of Nangarhar province, said police shot dead one suspect shortly before midnight Sunday and gave chase to the others. Dadak said a helicopter from the U.S.-led coalition fired at the militants but also hit a house in a village, killing a man and a young child.
#4: At least 11 Shia Muslims were executed by a rival Sunni group in Pakistan's Kurram agency, a volatile north-western tribal district, a tribal leader said Monday. The beheaded bodies of eight people from the Shia tribe Toori were found dumped in Arawali and three in the Sadda area of the district, tribal chief Ali Akbar told the Geo news television channel. All those killed were abducted Friday when a food convoy they were travelling with came under attack in the Sunni-dominated area of Pir Qayyum, about 30 kilometres south-east of Kurram's central town of Parachinar.
#5: Four people, including a security guard, were killed in the ambush. Later, government forces, backed by helicopter gunships, chased the attackers, killing five of them.
#6: NATO forces struck back with two artillery attacks across the border into Pakistan after attackers hiding there fired a barrage of rockets into Afghanistan that killed three children, officials said Sunday. NATO said five rockets were fired at one of its bases in Khost province overnight. At least one hit a house in Kunday, a small village that sits between two military bases, killing the three children. Another hit a NATO base, wounding an Afghan man, the alliance said. NATO said its forces responded "in self-defense" to the attack "with artillery fire on the launch site located about 300 meters (yards) inside Pakistan." In an earlier attack Saturday afternoon, three rounds of "indirect fire" — which often refers to mortar or rocket attacks — landed near a NATO outpost in neighboring Paktika province, the alliance said. Three more landed in an Afghan army compound. No casualties were reported. NATO said those rounds also came from inside Pakistan and responded with artillery fire. NATO reported that another overnight barrage of rockets aimed at a base in Khost — this time from inside Afghanistan — killed another civilian. It responded with an airstrike as well as artillery fire, it said.
#7: Record duo face Taliban rocket attack with Scots forces. (this is worth reading)
#8: TALIBAN fighters have ambushed a food convoy intended for foreign soldiers, killing one truck driver and wounding another, a local police chief said. The militants claimed four security guards hired to protect the convoy had been killed and several trucks were burned in Sunday's attack. But a police spokesmen in the province said only one driver was killed and another wounded in the ambush, which happened in the Showak district of Paktia province. Two vehicles were set on fire during the attack, the spokesman said. The convoy was on its way from Gardez to Khost city to carry food to US-led troops based in Khost province.
#9: A Canadian soldier remained in serious condition Sunday following a traffic accident Saturday afternoon when an RG-31, or Nyala, armoured vehicle rolled over in Kandahar City. Three soldiers were injured in the incident, which occurred at approximately 5:30 p.m. local time. One soldier was flown by helicopter to the multinational medical unit at Kandahar airfield. The two others were treated for minor injuries and did not require hospitalization.
#10: U.S.-led coalition and Afghan troops killed several Taliban insurgents in an air and ground assault in Sangin district of southern Afghanistan on Sunday, a U.S. military statement said on Monday.
#11: Several militants were killed during U.S.led coalition operation in the southern Afghan province of Helmand of Sunday, U.S. military said in a statement on Monday.
#12: Police say a suspected suicide car bomb has killed four civilians in western Afghanistan.Police official Abdul Shuqur says the sports utility vehicle exploded at a market in the town of Shindand on Monday afternoon. Shuqur says witnesses told him that seconds before the blast the vehicle approached a convoy of foreign troops and that the troops opened fire on it. He says 12 other people were wounded.
Source: http://warnewstoday.blogspot.com/

HOTTEST VIDEO ABOUT IRAQ WAR EVER POSTED ON THIS BLOG. A MUST SEE FOR EVERY RED-BLOODED AMERICAN MALE

The video of a country western girl singing about her boyfriend in Iraq is the hottest video we have ever posted on this blog in the six months this blog has been up and running. The "hits" to my blog are coming in from all over and from what we hear the video is the talk of many of the GIs deployed to Iraq. You can watch it here. WOW!

http://www.youtube.com/v/6cAChVVVZaM&hl=en

CNN BREAKING NEWS: FEMALE SUICIDE BOMBER KILLS 16 IN IRAQ

Female bomber kills 16 near government complex

Story Highlights
Attack took place on a street authorities had sealed off last week
Police officers, women, children among casualties, officials say
Authorities say women are increasingly offering themselves up for suicide missions
Officials: Al Qaeda preys on women who are illiterate, religious, in financial straits

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/06/22/iraq.main/index.html

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A female suicide bomber killed 16 people and wounded 40 Sunday when she detonated her explosives in a crowded area of central Baquba, police there said.
Police, women and children were among the casualties, according to the Diyala Military Operations command.

The attack happened near the main government complex in Baquba on a street that security officials had sealed off last week. Only official vehicles were being allowed in the area; civilian vehicles without special clearance were prohibited.

More than 20 female suicide bombers have carried out attacks in Iraq this year, a number much higher than in previous years. According to the U.S. military, women carried out eight bombings in 2007.

Authorities said that al Qaeda in Iraq is recruiting women and that increasing numbers of women are volunteering for missions.

The women are desperate and hopeless, officials said, and most have pre-existing ties to the insurgency. Their primary motive is revenge for a male family member killed by U.S. or Iraqi forces, the officials said.

"We do see certain members of cells attempting to persuade women -- specifically, in many cases, wives of those who have been killed as terrorists -- to conduct suicide operations," U.S. Maj. Gen. Mark Hertling said recently. His area of operations includes the volatile Diyala province.

Hertling's troops in Diyala have launched operations targeting relatives of suspected female bombers, as they attempt to break up the rings that are recruiting the women and girls.
Intelligence gathered from detainees indicates that al Qaeda in Iraq is looking for women with three main characteristics: those who are illiterate, are deeply religious or who have financial struggles.

Women in the last category often have money problems because they've lost the male head of the household, officials said.

Females always have played a role in the insurgency in Iraq, helping feed militants, hiding them in their homes and helping sneak weapons around the country.

They have proved to be effective in their operations because women are not to be searched by men for cultural and religious reasons.

The U.S. military has created a program called the Daughters of Iraq, similar to the U.S.-backed Sons of Iraq, across the Sunni regions of the country. The Daughters of Iraq are being trained to conduct searches of women.

In the northern city of Mosul, a suicide car bomber detonated near a police checkpoint, wounding at least 14 people -- including four policemen -- according to police.

Mosul is the capital of Nineveh province where Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki launched an ongoing offensive against al Qaeda in Iraq and other Sunni extremists last month.

Sunday's violence comes ahead of a U.S. report that will say violence in Iraq declined in the early part of this year, according to officials familiar with the report. (COMMENT: PERHAPS THE PENTAGON BETTER HOLD OFF ON THEIR GLOWING REPORT ABOUT HOW VIOLENCE IS DOWN IN IRAQ)

The Pentagon's upcoming report to Congress, which could be released as early as Monday, will cover events in Iraq from mid-February to mid-May.

COMMENT: THIS IS ALSO WHY SEN. JOHN McCAINS STATEMENT ABOUT PULLING OUT OF IRAQ WHEN THE VIOLENCE IS OVER MAKES NO SENSE WHATSOVER BECAUSE THE VIOLENCE WILL NEVER BE OVER IN IRAQ.

U.S. MARINES IN IRAQ. REAL WAR VIDEO: WARNING: VERY GRAPHIC

The United States Marine Corps have always distinguished themselves in battle and in Iraq they continue to display the type of courage and honor they deserve as seen in this VERY GRAPHIC video showing U.S. Marines in battle in Iraq.

http://www.youtube.com/v/enm9Dhp79Vk&hl=en

IRAQ WAR. (THE GREATEST WAR VIDEO EVER)

This video is hailed as the greatest war video ever made about the Iraq war. It is one you won't want to miss and perhaps even keep for future reference.

http://www.youtube.com/v/iRb7XxuxH_o&hl=en

VIDEO: HOT COUNTRY GIRL HAS MUSICAL MESSAGE FOR TROOPS IN IRAQ. WOW!

Wow is right. No wonder this video is a big hit with our guys in Iraq. And the message isn't bad either.

http://www.youtube.com/v/6cAChVVVZaM&hl=en

CNN REPORTS: ROCKETS LAUNCHED INTO AFGHANISTAN

Afghanistan is becoming the new "hot spot" in the Middle East and there are more and more signs the Taliban is getting stronger.

Last week more American GIs were killed in Afghanistan than were killed in Iraq.

As usual the mainstream media in the United States except for CNN is reluctant to report the increase in Taliban attacks on coalition forces in Afghanistan.

COMMENTS BY BILL CORCORAN, EDITOR OF CORKSPHERE

Rocket attacks hit ISAF bases in Afghanistan
Story Highlights
Four Afghan civilians killed by attacks on NATO-led bases in southern Afghanistan
ISAF: One barrage was launched from across the border in Pakistan
Pakistan informed, ISAF troops responded with attack aimed at the launch site

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/06/22/afghanistan/index.html

(CNN) -- Four Afghan civilians were killed by rocket attacks on NATO-led bases in southern Afghanistan Sunday, including on barrage launched from across the border in Pakistan, NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said.

Three of the deaths happened near dusk Sunday when five rockets fired from about 300 yards inside Pakistan hit the village of Kundai, ISAF said. One rocket landed inside the ISAF base and wounded an Afghan male, ISAF said.

ISAF troops responded with an artillery attack aimed at the launch site, ISAF said.
"The Pakistan military was immediately notified when ISAF forces came under fire," ISAF said.

One Afghan civilian was killed early Sunday when 13 rockets were launched toward an ISAF base in the Khowst province, ISAF said.

The launch site, which was inside Afghanistan, was then targeted by ISAF artillery and an airstrike, ISAF said.

On Saturday, several rockets were launched from inside Pakistan toward an ISAF base in Afghanistan's northeastern Paktika province, ISAF said. There were no casualties reported.

BOMB IRAN? WHAT'S TO STOP BUSH?

Unlike the attack on Iraq five years ago, to deal with Iran there need be no massing of troops. And, with the propaganda buildup already well under way, there need be little, if any, forewarning before shock and awe and pox -- in the form of air and missile attacks -- begin.

By Ray McGovern, Consortium NewsPosted on June 20, 2008, Printed on June 22, 2008

http://www.alternet.org/story/88786/

This time it will be largely the Air Force's show, punctuated by missile and air strikes by the Navy. Israeli-American agreement has now been reached at the highest level; the armed forces planners, plotters and pilots are working out the details.

Emerging from a 90-minute White House meeting with President George W. Bush on June 4, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the two leaders were of one mind:
"We reached agreement on the need to take care of the Iranian threat. I left with a lot less question marks [than] I had entered with regarding the means, the timetable restrictions, and American resoluteness to deal with the problem. George Bush understands the severity of the Iranian threat and the need to vanquish it, and intends to act on that matter before the end of his term in the White House."

Does that sound like a man concerned that Bush is just bluff and bluster?

A member of Olmert's delegation noted that same day that the two countries had agreed to cooperate in case of an attack by Iran, and that "the meetings focused on 'operational matters' pertaining to the Iranian threat." So bring 'em on!

A show of hands please. How many believe Iran is about to attack the U.S. or Israel?
You say you missed Olmert's account of what Bush has undertaken to do? So did I. We are indebted to intrepid journalist Chris Hedges for including the quote in his article of June 8, "The Iran Trap."

We can perhaps be excused for missing Olmert's confident words about "Israel's best friend" that week. Your attention -- like mine -- may have been riveted on the June 5 release of the findings of the Senate Intelligence Committee regarding administration misrepresentations of pre-Iraq-war intelligence -- the so-called "Phase II" investigation (also known, irreverently, as the "Waiting-for-Godot Study").

Better late than never, I suppose.
Oversight?
Yet I found myself thinking: It took them five years, and that is what passes for oversight? Yes, the president and vice president and their courtiers lied us into war. And now a bipartisan report could assert that fact formally; and committee chair Jay Rockefeller could sum it up succinctly:
"In making the case for war, the administration repeatedly presented intelligence as fact when in reality it was unsubstantiated, contradicted, or even non-existent. As a result, the American people were led to believe that the threat from Iraq was much greater than actually existed."
But as I listened to Senator Rockefeller, I had this sinking feeling that in five or six years time, those of us still around will be listening to a very similar post mortem looking back on an even more disastrous attack on Iran.

My colleagues and I in Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) issued repeated warnings, before the invasion of Iraq, about the warping of intelligence. And our memoranda met considerable resonance in foreign media.

We could get no ink or airtime, however, in the Fawning Corporate Media (FCM) in the U.S. Nor can we now.

Click on link above for full story.

SUNDAY IN IRAQ: 35 IRAQIS KILLED, 62 WOUNDED, SQUATTERS TOLD TO LEAVE THEIR HOMES IN BAGHDAD

At least 35 Iraqis were killed and another 62 were wounded in the latest attack. A female suicide bomber attacked a government center in Baquba at the end of the work day, leaving behind dozens of casualties. No Coalition deaths were reported.

http://www.antiwar.com/updates/?articleid=13028

A female suicide bomber blew herself up outside the Baquba governmental center, killing 17 people and wounding 42 others. A number of policemen were among the casualties The explosion occurred as the courthouse was winding down proceedings for the day. In an unrelated incident, three gunmen were detained in connection with the kidnapping and murder of three family members this week.

In Baghdad, three dumped bodies were recovered. U.S. forces killed six suspects and wounded another in several incidents on Friday; they had been observed trying to plant roadside bombs in various locations around the New Baghdad neighborhood.

A roadside bomb near Kirkuk killed three and wounded two more. Two women were among the dead. Another bomb, this one in al-Wasiti, left no casualties. In nearby Fashka village, a roadside bomb killed four people.

In Mosul, one policeman was killed and another was wounded in a drive-by shooting. Fourteen people were wounded during a suicide car bombing at a checkpoint in Wihda.

A bomb hidden in a bag injured two people at a market in Hilla.

Also, Iraqi courts have ordered that 20,000 detainees be freed. This includes people convicted of petty crimes but does not potentially innocent inmates held in Coalition prisons. Amnesty laws have been a point of contention between Sunni Arabs, who feel they have been unjustly targeted, and the Shi'ite majority government. Tens of thousands more out on bail or otherwise accused of crimes have had their warrants dropped as well.

Squatters in Baghdad have been given a deadline to leave occupied homes so that their owners may return home to claim them. They will be forcibly evicted after the deadline. Between four and five million Iraqis are thought to have left the country or been internally displaced due to sectarian attacks, the U.S. invasion, or other violence.

FRANK RICH: NOW THAT WE'VE WON THE WAR, LET'S COME HOME

THE Iraq war’s defenders like to bash the press for pushing the bad news and ignoring the good.

Maybe they’ll be happy to hear that the bad news doesn’t rate anymore. When a bomb killed at least 51 Iraqis at a Baghdad market on Tuesday, ending an extended run of relative calm, only one of the three network newscasts (NBC’s) even bothered to mention it.The only problem is that no news from Iraq isn’t good news — it’s no news.

Source: New York TimesNow That We’ve ‘Won,’ Let’s Come HomeBy FRANK RICHJune 22, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/22/opinion/22rich.html?h

The night of the Baghdad bombing the CBS war correspondent Lara Logan appeared as Jon Stewart’s guest on “The Daily Show” to lament the vanishing television coverage and the even steeper falloff in viewer interest. “Tell me the last time you saw the body of a dead American soldier,” she said.

After pointing out that more soldiers died in Afghanistan than Iraq last month, she asked, “Who’s paying attention to that?”Her question was rhetorical, but there is an answer: Virtually no one.

If you follow the nation’s op-ed pages and the presidential campaign, Iraq seems as contentious an issue as Vietnam was in 1968.

But in the country itself, Cindy vs. Michelle, not Shiites vs. Sunnis, is the hotter battle. This isn’t the press’s fault, and it isn’t the public’s fault. It’s merely the way things are.

In America, the war has been a settled issue since early 2007. No matter what has happened in Iraq since then, no matter what anyone on any side of the Iraq debate has had to say about it, polls have consistently found that a majority of Americans judge the war a mistake and want out.

For that majority, the war is over except for finalizing the withdrawal details. They’ve moved on without waiting for the results of Election Day 2008 or sampling the latest hectoring ad from moveon.org. . .http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/22/opinion/22rich.html?h...
Continue reading at link above.

EXPLOSION NEAR GREEN ZONE KILLS 4 INJURES 12

Baghdad - At least four people were killed and 12 wounded in separate incidents across Iraq, police and media reports said Saturday.

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/214021,four-killed-12-injured-in-iraq-violence--summary.html

Police told the Voices of Iraq (VOI) news agency that three people were killed and 10 wounded when an explosive device was detonated in Baghdad's Harithiya district in the late hours of Friday.

Sources said that the vehicle was parked on the side of a road leading to Baghdad's Green Zone.
The Green Zone is located in central Baghdad where the British and the US embassies are located as well as several governmental offices and ministries.

In another incident, militants shot dead an Iraqi taxi driver who worked in Baghdad's Baiaa area, security sources told VOI.

Meanwhile police discovered three bodies of members of the same family in the Tahrir area of the city of Baquba, some 60 kilometres north of the capital, sources told VOI.

Sources said the three, who had been shot, were abducted by militants after refusing to follow their orders.

CORRUPTION PROBE HALTS REBUILDING IRAQI CITY WITH YOUR TAX DOLLARS

It is isn't bad enough the Iraq war has cost the U.S. taxpayer over 3 TRILLION dollars, but now there are more and more reports coming out showing all kinds of corruption with the rebuilding of Iraqi cities we destroyed and a waste of U.S. taxpayer money.

Once again, the media in the United States plays CYA for the Bush administration and reports such as the one below get little or no attention in the mainstream media.

This is YOUR MONEY folks and it is being squandered in Iraq while our bridges and highways are in terrible shape, schools need renovation and we have a medical system that has left 47 MILLION Americans without any health care.

And on top of the total mess we have created in Iraq with our invasion and occupation, the Bush administration is rattling the sabre and threatening to come to the defense of Israel if Israel decides to attack Iran.

If you think gas prices are high now, just wait until you see what happens if we end up going to war with IRAN.

COMMENTARY BY BILL CORCORAN, EDITOR OF CORKSPHERE

Probe halts rebuilding of Iraqi city
Mayor, police chief investigated in scam to sell stored oil on black market
The Associated Press
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25287847/

FALLUJAH, Iraq - U.S.-funded reconstruction in a one-time Sunni insurgent stronghold has been suspended because of a corruption probe, including allegations that the mayor and police chief were involved in a multimillion-dollar oil smuggling ring, The Associated Press has learned.
The problems in Hit, a dusty, ramshackle western town along the Euphrates River, provide a glimpse of the challenges in rebuilding a country where years of war and misrule have destroyed the social fabric.

Reconstruction is a key part of the U.S. military strategy against both Sunni and Shiite extremists, but many projects have long been dogged by mismanagement and allegations of corruption.

The U.S. government suspended its efforts in Hit this month after the police chief, Col. Salah Rasheed al-Gaoud, was fired for his alleged role in the scheme, U.S. and Iraqi officials familiar with the investigation told the AP.

Officials also confirmed that the mayor, Hikmat Jubair al-Gaoud, was under investigation. Marine Lt. Col. Chris Hughes, a spokesman for U.S. forces in Anbar province, said the mayor's current whereabouts were unknown and that it was unclear whether he fled the country.

But a man identifying himself as the mayor told the AP when contacted on al-Gaoud's mobile phone that he was still in Hit and "still in my job as the mayor."
"There is a committee that it is investigating the case of stealing oil and its work has not finished yet," he said Thursday.

Among the reconstruction projects that have been suspended are repairs to the town's dilapidated infrastructure, including street repairs, sewerage upgrade and school construction.
U.S. military officials said reconstruction projects in Hit would remain on hold during the investigation, which Iraqis said was being conducted by the Ministry of Interior.

Click on link http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25287847/ to read full account.

137 U.S. SOLDIERS BECOME ILL FROM CHEMICALS GUARDING KBR OIL PLANT IN IRAQ

Witness says U.S. soldiers ill after exposure to chemical

Workers allege contractor knew risks

By FARAH STOCKMANTHE BOSTON GLOBE
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/367940_chemical21.html

WASHINGTON -- U.S. soldiers assigned to guard a crucial part of Iraq's oil infrastructure became ill after exposure to a highly toxic chemical at the plant, witnesses told a Democratic Policy Committee hearing Friday on Capitol Hill.

"These soldiers were bleeding from the nose, spitting blood," said Danny Langford, an equipment technician from Texas brought to work at the Qarmat Ali Water treatment plant in 2003. "They were sick."

"Hundreds of American soldiers at this site were contaminated" while guarding the plant, Langford said, including members of the Indiana National Guard.

Langford is one of nine Americans who accuse KBR, the lead contractor on the Qarmat Ali project and one of the largest military contractors in Iraq, of knowingly exposing them to sodium dichromate, an orange, sandlike chemical that is a potentially lethal carcinogen. Specialists say even short-term exposure to the chemical can cause cancer, depress an individual's immune system, attack the liver, and cause other ailments.

Friday's hearing -- one among several organized to hold contractors accountable for alleged malfeasance in Iraq -- was chaired by Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D. "Hundreds of U.S. troops, who may not even know of their exposure to sodium dichromate that could one day result in a horrible disease, cancers, and death," he said.

Roughly 250 American soldiers were believed to have come in contact with the chemical, according to Defense Department documents. Sodium dichromate is the same substance that poisoned residents in Hinkley, Calif., an episode made famous by the movie "Erin Brockovich" in 2000.

In Iraq, the chemical was used as an antirust coating for pipes that supply water to the oil fields. After the 2003 U.S. invasion, looters raided the Qarmat-Ali facility; afterward, the chemical was found strewn around the facility and its grounds.

Langford and his former colleagues have said KBR supervisors initially told them the chemical was a "mild irritant." The company, however, eventually acknowledged that sodium dichromate was a potentially deadly substance and moved to clean up the site.
KBR has denied any wrongdoing.

After KBR began cleaning up the site, it tested its workers for exposure. The U.S. military took blood and urine samples from 137 soldiers and civilians who were at the plant.

BREAKING NEWS: LATEST DEATHS OF U.S. AND COALITION TROOPS IN IRAQ, AND FLAREUP OF VIOLENCE ACROSS IRAQ

There has been no letup in the violence and deaths of U.S. soldiers and coalition troops as Friday draws to a close in Iraq.

Naturally, the mainstream media and especially FOX NEWS don't mention the deaths of U.S. troops in Iraq of the number of acts of violence in provinces all across Iraq.

Source: http://warnewstoday.blogspot.com/

UPDATE: One Soldier was killed and five wounded in three roadside bomb attacks on Coalition force patrols in Diyala province June 20. All the injured were medically evacuated. No further details given at this time, including the affiliation of the casualties.

CJTF-101 is reporting the death of a coalition service member from gunfire in Helmand province on Thursday, June 19th. No other details were released.

CJTF-101 is reporting the death of a second coalition service member gunfire in Helmand province, Afghanistan on Thursday, June 19th. In this updated release there were two soldiers killed in the same incident and another soldier was wounded. No other details were released.

The Washington Post (Reuters) is reporting the death of a soldier from a suicide bomber attack in the Girishk district, Helmand province, Afghanistan on Friday, June 20th. An Afghan interpreter and five civilians were also killed in the attack. No other details were released.

In an updated article, The Daily Record reports that David McCullie was a United Nations troubleshooter who died of a heart attack at his living quarters in Baghdad. he was the UN's chief of general services in Iraq, Kuwait and Jordan. He was a grade seven field officer - the equivalent of a brigadier general in the army.June 18 airpower summary:

Baghdad:#1: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused the United States and its allies of plotting to assassinate him during a visit to neighbouring Iraq in March, state radio reported on Friday. "Based on reliable intelligence, our enemies had plans to kidnap and kill your servant (Ahmadinejad). But we intentionally made last minute changes in our schedule," the radio quoted Ahmadinejad telling a meeting of clerics in the Shi'ite holy city of Qom on Thursday.

#2: U.S. forces killed four militants and detained 18 others on Thursday and Friday during operations around Baghdad, the U.S. military said.

#3: Thursday Two unidentified bodies were found in Baghdad today; one in Ur neighbourhood and one in Kasra wa Atash.

#4: A roadside bomb targeted a US military convoy in Beirut Square, northeast Baghdad at 10 a.m. No casualties were reported.

#5: A roadside bomb targeted a US military convoy in Doura, south Baghdad at 11 a.m. No casualties were reported.

Diyala Prv:#1: An Iraqi soldier was killed Friday and three more, including a police officer, were wounded when an explosive device targeted their patrol in the northern city of Baquba, media reports said. Security sources told the Voices of Iraq (VOI) news agency that the bomb went off in the main road leading to Naqib area, southern Baquba.

#2: Gunmen blew up two houses in Ashti neighbourhood, al-Saadiyah district , to the northeast of Baquba Thursday evening. Both houses were empty as they were blown up by remote control, but a civilian passer by was in the vicinity and was injured by the blast.

Bahraz:#1: Unidentified gunmen killed a university student in southern Diala late Thursday, a police source said. "Suspected al-Qaeda gunmen opened fire on a university student in al-Abara region in Bahraz district, south of Baaquba, killing him instantly,” he source, who asked for anonymity, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq.

Kut:#1: The al-Zahraa hospital’s morgue in Kut received on Friday an unidentified female body, a medical source said.“The 40-year-old body bore signs of stabbing and torture,” the source, who asked to be unnamed, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq.

Iskandariya:#1: Police found two decomposed bodies inside a mosque two years after they were kidnapped in Iskandariya, 40 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.

Dalouiya:#1: Three policemen were wounded on Friday when an improvised explosive device went off targeting their patrol in Dalouiya, said a police source. “An explosive charge was detonated near a police patrol in Dalouiya, wounding three policemen. Who were rushed to the city’s hospital for treatment,” Colonel Mohammed al-Juburi told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq, noting that their health condition is stable.

Balad:#1: U.S. troops killed four suspected al-Qaida militants and detained 18 others in raids north of Baghdad targeting al-Qaida bombing networks in Iraq, the U.S. military said on Friday. In a series of operations on Friday near the town of Balad, some 80 km north of Baghdad, U.S. troops, at one location, were attacked by small arms fire from a nearby rooftop, prompting the troops to fire back, killing four attackers, a military statement said.

Mosul:#1: Five policemen were wounded on Friday afternoon in a suicide car bomb attack on a checkpoint in southeastern Mosul, a senior security source said. “A car rigged with explosives driven by a suicide bomber, went off at 12:00pm on Friday targeting a police checkpoint in al-Wehda neighborhood in southeastern Mosul, injuring five policemen,” the source, who wished to remain anonymous, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq. “Police forces opened fire at the driver, killing him instantly before hitting the checkpoint,” he explained.