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Funerals in Baquba and elsewhere

On Wednesday, hundreds of Iraqis attended the funeral of the twelve policemen killed in an attack on their mini-bus in the northeastern city of Baquba. Such funerals are becomming common throughout the country.

On the same day, American troops found three bodies and their severed heads north of Baghdad while 13 people died in clashes in Ramadi, two more in a car bomb attack and two Iraqis employed by the US Army were shot in the north. More than 350 people have been killed in the war in Iraq so far this month.

There are more and more calls to end this war, even from those who were initially proponents. Lt. Gen. James Conway, outgoing Marine commander of western Iraq said that we shouldn't have attacked Fallujah. Colonel Tim Collins, Northern Ireland's Iraq war hero, calls the war " incompetent". UN Secretary General Kofi Annan says that the war was "illegal". And even Richard Perle, former chair of the Pentagon Defense Policy Advisory Board, is having second thoughts. posted 16 September 2004

1,000 US soldiers dead ...no end in sight

On the day that the toll of US soldiers dead in Iraq reached 1,000 both presidential candidate John Kerry and President Bush's administration continued with their estimate that the war in Iraq would last at least four more years. More than 1,000 vigils are being planned across the US.

The advisors to both Bush and Kerry (and the general press for that matter) continue to show are complete misunderstanding of the dynamics of the war in Iraq. Their entire focus seems to be on the upcoming elections and neither has offered a realistic plan to solve the conflict.

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld calls these tragic deaths the "price of war." The vast majority of US deaths have come after Bush's May 1, 2003, "mission accomplished" declaration of an end to major combat operations. For his part, Senator Kerry voted both to give the President authority to use "all necessary force" and for expenditures for the war in Iraq.

At issue is an agressive American defense policy - and a Washington, D.C. - full of those who appear, at best, to lack any understanding of the assymetric threats and responses and, at worst, are self-consumed with their own interests. Meanwhile, the war in Iraq keeps escalating and deaths continue to mount. posted 08 September 2004

Humanitarian friends taken hostage

Simona Pari (L) and Simona Torretta, both with Bridges to Baghdad an Italian peace and humanitarian organization, were taken hostage yesterday in Baghdad. Charlie Jackson, of Texans for Peace, became friends with Simona P. and the Bridges to Baghdad team during his first visit to Iraq in 2003.

Witnesses said that armed men came into their offices during the day and siezed both of the women, and two Iraqi workers, away at gunpoint while men armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles and pistols stopped traffic outside.

The news agency cited another witness as saying that the seizure looked "totally professional" and that the kidnappers seemed to know exactly whom they wanted to abduct. It is not known if their abductors were Iraqi insurgents, theives, al-Queda terrorists, or perhaps a clandestine operation.

Scores killed and injured in Baghdad

American forces battled Iraqis in the Baghdad slum of Sadr City today, in intense clashes that killed 34 people, according to a NY Times Associated Press report. At least one of the dead is an American Solider and as many as 193 persons were wounded during the past 24 hours.

The fighting came a day after seven marines and three Iraqis were killed by a car bomb near Falluju, about 35 miles west of Baghdad. A spokesman for the cleric Moktada al-Sadr, Sheik Raed al-Kadhimi, said the fighting started because of what he described as intrusive American incursions into Sadr City and attempts to arrest the cleric's followers. A US army captain says said the American soldier was killed by small arms fire when militants attacked troops carrying out routine patrols in Sadr City. "We just kept coming under fire," Capt Brian O'Malley said.

US military personnel said in a statement that its forces have been coming under attack in "multiple engagements" in the eastern Baghdad district. American tanks have taken up positions in Sadr City and armored personnel carriers and Bradley fighting vehicles have been deployed at key intersections, while warplanes continue to fly over the sprawling neighborhood of more than two million. posted 07 September 2004

Seven Marines killed in Fallujah

Seven Marines and three Iraqi National Guard soldiers were killed by a massive car bomb in the outskirts of Fallujah today, just hours after the U.S. military announced it would try to restore security in the insurgent-controlled city.

An apparent suicide bomber sped up to the two humvees and unleashed a massive explosion, destroyed all cars. Medical teams in helicopters immediately secured the area and began evacuating the injured from the blazing vehicles. Three additional soldiers were injured in a roadside bombing in Baghdad.

With Monday's deaths, 990 U.S. service members have died since the beginning of military operations in Iraq in March 2003, according to a count by The Associated Press based on Defense Department figures. Iraqis often do not want the American troops patrolling the cities, saying the U.S. military presence is what is inciting the fighting. They insist the Iraqi police and military can contain the violence. The interim government has asked the U.S. military to leave some cities. posted 06 September 2004

Tal Afar wrecked as fighting intensifies

Three Iraqis were killed and a dozen injured on Sunday during intense fighting between Iraqis in Tal Afar and US-led forces, according to Dr Fawzi al-Tahhan, director of the Tal Afar Hospital.

Tal Afar, near Mosul, has witnessed much bloodshed during recent weeks. The most recent fighting began after U.S. troops and Iraqi forces encircled al-Sarai and Hasankul districts in the town, said Ammar al-Zubaidi an Iraqi journalist.

The US has responded with aerial bombings. "Many houses have been bombed and destroyed with the residents still inside," Dr. Khalil Ibrahim Rashid, a spokesman for the Tal Afar Hospital said. "The number of casualties is expected to rise as the clashes and bombing by helicopters are continuing". posted 05 September 2004

Violence claims 45 in single day

At least 20 persons were killed, and score more injured, in a suicide car bombing outside of the main police academy in Kirkuk. This added to other events in Iraq to push the total killed to over 45 on Saturday.

In the no-go zone of Latifyah, , Iraqi police and national guard, assisted by US forces, launched a major assault in the boldest offensive by the new government since it took power three months ago. Twelve policemen were killed and five national guardsmen wounded in the raids that saw 200 hundred suspects arrested, an Iraqi national guard intelligence officer told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Besides the violence in Kirkuk, Iraq, 13 Iraqis were killed and 53 civilians wounded as US forces and insurgents battled for six hours in Tall Afar, west of the main city of Mosul, medics said.And, in another blow to the fragile oil industry, saboteurs set ablaze pipelines in southern and northern Iraq. posted 04 September 2004

US airstrikes in Fallujah kill 17

A U.S. airstrike late Wednesday targeted a suspected safehouse in Fallujah used by followers of Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, U.S. officials said. The attack killed 17 people, including three children, and wounded six, hospital officials and witnesses said.

Witnesses said the strike hit a residence in the southern neighborhood of al-Jubail. People struggled to pull bodies from the rubble, while ambulances and civilian cars took the dead and wounded to the hospital.

U.S. forces have repeatedly carried out airstrikes in Fallujah, 40 miles west of Baghdad, since Marines pulled back after a three-week siege of the city in April aimed at rooting out Sunni Muslim insurgents. The U.S. military said in a statement that the latest strike used a precision-guided weapons. "What do you tell to the parents of the dead children," one witness asked? posted 01 September 2004

Terrorists execute 12 Nepalese

Twelve Nepalese civilians taken hostage in Iraq by an al-Qa'ida-linked group 11 days ago have been executed, their deaths filmed in a grisly video released last night.

A masked man in desert camouflage gear is shown slitting the throat of a blindfolded man lying on the ground. The blindfolded man moans and a shrill wheeze is heard, then the masked man displays the head to the camera before resting it on the decapitated body. Other footage on the website, linked to the Army of Ansar al-Sunna, shows a man firing single shots from an assault rifle at the back of the heads of 11 others. The 11 are lying in a row in what appears to be a ditch. Blood seeps from their bodies on to the sand.

At the end of the four-minute video, a man reads a statement off-camera, claiming responsibility for the Army of Ansar al-Sunna and vowing to fight the Iraqi Government. Nepal said it could not confirm the killing of the hostages, who disappeared on August 19 after crossing the border from Jordan. posted 31 August 2004

Protestors in NY, Ceasefire in Iraq?

Between 250,000 and 750,000 protestors against the war in Iraq and other policies of the Bush Administrator were out in a show of force on the eve of the Republican convention.

Protestors carried mock coffins to symbolize the almost 1,000 US troops that have been killed in Iraq so far.

In Iraq, on Monday, there were signs of a possible ceasefire. Cleris Moqtada al-Sadr reported ordered his militia to cease fighting and lay down their arms. Sadr aide Sheikh Mahmoud al-Sudani told Reuters, "the Mehdi Army is now turning to peaceful struggle. We will have to see in the future -- that could change. But now it is peaceful." "Moqtada will declare his participation in Iraq's political process. He will not participate directly in elections but he will appoint and back someone from his side or elsewhere," he also said.

In France, there were huge demonstrations as well. Among hostages being held in Iraq are French journalists Christian Chesnot and Georges Malbrunot, whose captors say they will kill them if France does not drop its controversial ban on Muslim headscarves in schools by Monday evening. posted 30 August 2004

Civilians caught in fighting near Mosul

At least 34 civilians were injured during clashes between US forces and armed Iraqis in Tal Afar, near the northern city of Mosul, on Sunday. 26 of the injured were women and children. There were no casualities among US troops.

Most of the wounded were taken to Tal Afar, but two with the most serious injuries were taken to Mosul, according to hospital sources. Mosul has been the scene of recent violence including the assasination of a university official on Saturday as she headed to work. A car bomb exploded near an Army convoy on Friday, injuring at least 12 iraqis and one US soldier.

In Baghdad, a search is on for two French journalist that were taken hostage the prior week and who showed up in a videotape on Al-Jazeera television on Saturday. Also in Bagtdad, insurgent mortar attacks continued on Sunday. posted 29 August 2004

City of Najaf much destroyed, war continues elsewhere

One day after the battle for Najaf ended through nonviolent intervention by Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the war in Iraq continued in other parts of the country. In Fallujah, five people were killed - including women and children - by US airstrikes and in Mosul a professor was assasinated by unknown gunmen. Fighting in the Sadr-city area of Baghdad left three dead and 25 wounded. And in Najaf, residents of that city returned to find much of their city in ruins after three weeks of intense fighting.

US warplanes launched a wave of airstrikes on Fallujah, dropping bombs in the eastern neighborhood of al-Askari, and damaging 15 homes. The military said at least one attack was targetting an anti-aircraft gun mounted on the back of a truck in Fallujah. Militants "attempted to fire on one of our aviation assets and we responded with missile fire," said Lt Col Thomas V Johnson, a Marine spokesperson in Fallujah, about 65 kilometers west of Baghdad. US warplanes also bombed the city's industrial zone, wounding two factory guards.

In Najaf, carnage and rubble are all that remain of the three-week battle between U.S. forces and Iraqis. Decomposed bodies of insurgent fighters lay in houses in and around the Old City, which surrounds the shrine. Most of city's commercial sector including the hotel district - of a city that depended heavily on tourism - is completely destroyed.

The core of the city is so mauled that American commanders debate which famously ruined wartime cityscape Najaf now resembles most, according to the Boston Globe. ''It's like Stalingrad," a senior Fifth Cavalry officer said. ''Sarajevo," another maintained. ''Beirut," a Marine commander said.

When the Seventh Cavalry arrived in Najaf, it let loose a furious barrage. Multistory buildings at the main intersection of the ring road surrounding the famous Mosque crumbled under the Americans' combined weapons warfare - bombs and missiles from the skies, shells from distant artillery and direct fire from the 25 mm chain guns of Bradley Fighting Vehicles and the 120 mm cannons of tanks. It all played hell on the city treasured by millions of Shiite pilgrims. The main intersection, which pilgrims approach immediately before sighting the splendid shrine, is now a hellish landscape of standing water, Swiss cheese walls and ruined hotels, says the Globe. During the battle, one Marine officer said with a sigh, ''we are destroying this city". posted 28 August 2004

Nonviolent break to Najaf standoff

Thousands of pilgrims streamed into the Imam Ali Shrine on Friday, and rebels laid down their arms after a peace deal was reached overnight to end the three-week uprising in Najaf that includes a provision calling on US forces to leave Najaf.

Hours earlier, Muqtada al-Sadr ordered his fighters to lay down their arms and leave Najaf and neighboring Kufa after cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani's supporters marched on the city in a nonviolent demonstration to stop the conflict. "To all my brothers in Mahdi Army ... you should leave Kufa and Najaf without your weapons, along with the peaceful masses," al-Sadr said in a statement broadcast over the shrine's loudspeakers.

The deal brings a peaceful end to three weeks of bloody fighting that began when US troops and Iraqi security forces moved on the city. Scores of Iraqis and nine US soldiers were killed in the ensuing battles, parts of Najaf's Old City were bombed and ravaged, and control of Iraq's interim government was threatened. posted 27 August 2004

Redtape hinders aid

For over two weeks, Austinite Alan Pogue has been cooling his heals in Kuwait City, frustrated in attempts to bring aid to Israa. He wrote today that although Basrah is very close to Kuwait communication remains terrible, continued fighting in Iraq is causing transit problems, and the U.S. embassy has still not approved the needed medical visas. Alan and Cole Miller began the journey to Basrah (read their daily posts) on August 9 to bring Isra and her father to Shriners Hospital in Houston, Texas.

A professional photographer, Alan Pogue took this striking photograph of Israa Amir in March of 2000 while he was traveling in Iraq with Veterans for Peace and Voices in the Wilderness. In December of 2002 he returned to Iraq and found her in the remote southern village of Abu Floos, where she lives with her family and he has obtained donated medical aid in Houston to outfit her with a prosthetic arm....if he can get her there.

Israa was severely injured in a missile attack conducted by the US military on the morning of January 25, 1999. She had just finished a test at the Al Najed primary school and was walking home from school when the missile struck. A large piece of shrapnel severed her right arm below the shoulder and she suffered chest and abdominal wounds. A metal fragment remains lodged in her skull, doctors could not remove it for fear of killing her. Israa was nine years old at the time.

Alan and Cole successfully helped bring Um Haider and Mostafa - an Iraqi mother and her injured son - to the US in early April 2003. posted 27 August 2004

Eight pipelines sabotaged

Saboteurs on Thursday attacked eight pipelines linking a main southern oilfield in Iraq to a pumping station near the city of Basrah, an oil official said.

The parallel pipelines, which range 12 to 20 inches, carry crude oil from the South Rumaila oilfield to the Zubeir One station, which pumps the crude to two Gulf terminals.

Iraq's south has been the focus of a U.S.-led offensive aimed at crushing a Shi'ite uprising led by anti-U.S. cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

Iraq's interior minister has said that the government has taken "extreme measures" to protect the infrastructure. Attacks have continued unabated, including in the south, which accounts for virtually all of the country's oil exports.

In Najaf, Iraqi police, angered by news coverage of the standoff around the Imam Ali Mosque, rousted journalists from their hotel at gunpoint Wednesday night. About 50 journalists were taken to police headquarters, including representatives of CNN, the British Broadcasting Corp., Agence France-Presse and several U.S. newspapers. When the journalists returned to their hotel, many found their rooms had been ransacked, and some reported small amounts of money missing. posted 26 August 2004

The opportunity costs of war in Iraq

The war in Iraq, costly in lives of the dead and injured, has also taken its toll on the US and world economy.

"The Iraq war continues to be a drain on the American taxpayers' pocketbooks. So far, the war has cost the United States $144.4 billion, including $25 billion in the administration's FY05 defense budget signed into law earlier this month. An additional $60 billion is expected in a supplemental request after the November elections. According to the Defense Department, the cost of containing Saddam Hussein over 12 years was only $30 billion," begins the report The Opportunity Costs of the Iraq War by the Center for American Progress.

The report details the costs of the war to date and the "missed opportunities" for spending to strengthen security at home and around the world. It asks the question, "Could the $144.4 billion spent on Iraq been better used to protect the American people from terrorist threats?" posted 25 August 2004

Dozens killed in Kufa

At least 25 were killed and 63 injured when mortars slammed into peaceful demonstrators in Kufa as they prepared a march to Najaf.

Hundreds had gathered preparing to greet Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who was travelling north from Basra with thousands of supporters on a mission to "save" Najaf. The injured were placed in the hospital's garden and overwhelmed doctors appealed to hospitals across southern Iraq to send ambulances and aid.

"There were hundreds of us. We came early this morning to the mosque. We were waiting for Sistani, inside and outside. Then at 8:00 am, two mortars exploded, one near the outer gate and the other inside the compound," said Hani Hashim. It was not immediately clear who fired the mortars at the mosque, which is under the control of the Mehdi Army. posted 26 August 2004

Demonstrators attacked, two dead

Two demonstrators were killed and five wounded by gunfire Wednesday as they passed a multinational force building.

Hundreds of demonstrators, supporters of cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, were chanting and marching in what appeared to be a peaceful demonstration when unidentified gunmen shot into the crowd. Two bodies were brought to the Middle Euphrates hospital, along with five patients suffering from injuries, a doctor told.

Witnesses said the gunfire appeared to come from an Iraqi National Guard post, which sat behind concrete blast walls along the route. The automatic weapons fire sent the marchers into a panic, with many scurrying for safety and yelling angrily. No one in the crowd could be seen firing a weapon, and it was unclear whether the incident was a gunbattle or an unprovoked attack on the demonstration. posted 25 August 2004

Freedom with misery

Peggy Gish is a 60-year old from Ohio who knows Iraq well. She has spent many months in that country during the past three years, as a member of Christian Peacemaker Teams, working for peace. She brings insights directly from Iraqi families.

This week my friend Peggy writes from Baghdad, "Since returning to Iraq, I am frequently asked about what it is like for the Iraqi people now."

"On a day-to-day level, there are meager improvements in their standard of living and the increased availability of modern
appliances and technology. Overshadowing any satisfaction about this, however, looms the lack of security and control Iraqis continue to feel over the circumstances of their lives and the future of their society.
Only 8-10 hours a day with electricity in a large city, during the extreme summer heat, was hard enough last summer (right after the war began), but resentment thrives a year later when there is little more. One man told me that now, since the war 'we have a different kind a freedom, a freedom with misery.' "

"Recently the son of our neighbors was driving with his mother and sister when a car started following them. It passed in front and blocked their way. When they managed to turn around, men got out of the car with guns and shot at their car. Even though a tire went flat, the son kept driving, weaving through traffic and side streets until they got away. Other Iraqis have had members kidnapped for ransom money, and are terrified to leave their homes. Shoot-outs between Cleric Muktada Al-Sadr's Mehdi militia and the Multinational Forces in Iraq in Najaf and many other areas Iraq, have added to the crisis. Iraqis have warned us that if the Shrine of Imam Ali, the holiest site for the Shia Muslims, is attacked and damaged, violence could erupt all over Baghdad.

Many say that this general uprising will continue to escalate, not subside. This has been a test of loyalties for hundreds of government workers and Iraqi soldiers who have chosen to resign in protest of the attacks by multinational forces or for Iraqi soldiers who have refused to fire on their own people." posted 24 August 2004

Bush: "Making progress" in Iraq

President Bush, while vacationing in Texas, held a defense policy meeting. After the meeting he told reporters that U.S.-led forces were "making progress" in Iraq. Marines there have been engaged in fierce battles with followers of a Najaf cleric al-Sadr.

"We talked about Iraq, moving forward in Iraq," and helping the Iraqis secure the nation as it approaches elections, Bush said here after mapping defense strategy for more than three hours with top national security officials. "We're making progress on the ground."

Vice President Cheney, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Myers and national security adviser Condoleezza Rice were among those who attended the meeting at the president's ranch. Gen. Casey, the senior U.S. officer in Iraq, and Gen. Abizaid, head of the U.S. Central Command participated in part of the meeting via a secure video conference. Secretary of State, Powell, did not participate.

"We talked about transformation issues, spent some time talking about the reconfiguration of our forces around the world to better ... keep the peace," Bush said. posted 23 August 2004

The "Alamo" of Najaf

Encircled by US tanks not more than 800 yards from the entrance to the shrine of Imam Ali in Najaf, several hundred civilians - including women and children - are camped out in a last ditch effort to keep the Americans at bay.

In a scene reminescent of the Battle of the Alamo, the defenders of this historic Muslim Mosque and shrine (in San Antonio it was a Christian Mission) are determined to stay despite being confronted by overwhelming force.

Warplanes continued to bomb suspected fighter positions in the Old City during the weekend. Militants have been fighting back and launching mortars at US positions. Tanks rome the streets of the town freely.

Fighting in the nearby city of Kufa on Saturday killed several militants, according to a source in the Interior Ministry and in the town of Khalis, north of Baghdad, car bomb exploded on Sunday, killing two people and injuring 14 others, including a deputy provincial governor, Bassam al-Khadran, Iraqi officials said. posted 22 August 2004

Warplanes pound Najaf

U.S. warplanes pounded areas near near the Imam Ali mosque in Najaf, where supporters are holed up after their leader, Moqtada al-Sadr, in definance of a final demand from Iraq's interim prime minister to disarm.

U.S. AC-130 gunships continue to strike at positions held by Sadr's Mehdi Army fighters, who have sheltered in and near the mosque and the ancient Wadi al-Salam (Valley of Peace) cemetery. As the blasts rocked the city, the rallying cry of "Allah Akbar" (God is Greatest) sounded over loudspeakers from the direction of the shrine.

Warplanes also attacked targets in the Sunni Muslim city of Falluja west of Baghdad, witnesses said. The U.S. military has bombed targets almost daily over the past week in Falluja, a city of 200,000 people and a hotbed of insurgents fighting the U.S. forces which invaded Iraq and deposed Saddam Hussein in April last year. There is much concern over the long-term effects of the depleted uranium (DU) used in these bombs, in addition to the continued destruction resulting from these military campaigns.

In Baghdad, a mortar bomb hit the roof of the U.S. embassy in the heavily fortified Green Zone, slightly wounding two American employees, an embassy spokesman said. Also in Baghdad, U.S. troops are engaged in the slum of Sadr City.

In Basrah, Sadr loyalists torched the headquarters of the South Oil Co. posted 19 August 2004

>> Freed Journalist wants to stay
U.S. journalist Micah Garen, freed after nine days of being held by kidnappers, said he hoped to stay in Iraq to continue working on a documentary project he'd started about the looting of archaeological sites....[more ]
posted 23 August 2004

>> Death threats follow Abu Ghraib tipster
The Army reservist who tipped off investigators to abuse of Iraqi prisoners by his fellow soldiers is in protective military custody because of death threats, family members say.....[more ]
posted 19 August 2004

>> Ukranian, Dutch soldiers killed in separate incidents
A Ukrainian soldier was killed Sunday in a land mine explosion southeast of Baghdad, a spokesman for the occupation forces said. Meanwhile, in southern Iraq, a Dutch soldier was killed and five seriously wounded on Saturday evening in a shooting incident.....[more ]
posted 15 August 2004

>> Oil is above $45 as Iraq Fighting Rages
Oil prices hit fresh record highs on Thursday as U.S.-led forces moved to crush a rebellion in the holy Iraqi city of Najaf, a move which Shi'ite Iraqi militia have warned could trigger fresh attacks on oil infrastructure.....[more ]
posted 12 August 2004

>> Seven policemen die in assassination attempt
At least seven Iraqi policemen have been killed in a suicide car bomb attack which was an apparent attempt to assassinate a senior official, police have said.....[more ]
posted 09 August 2004

>> US soldier facing murder charges
A U.S. army captain charged with murdering an Iraqi appeared before a military hearing in Germany on Wednesday in the first murder investigation of an American soldier since the Iraq invasion ......[more ]
posted 28 July 2004

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