Saturday, February 16, 2008

Friday Iraq Report

February 15, 2008
Friday: 33 Iraqis Killed, 21 Wounded

Updated at 11:15 p.m. EST, Feb. 15, 2008

At least 33 Iraqis were killed or found dead and 21 more were wounded during the latest violence. It is the weekly prayer day, and two suicide bombers took advantage of mosque worshippers to stage an attack in Tal Afar. No Coalition deaths were reported.

Two suicide bombers killed as many as four people and wounded 17 more during an attack on a mosque in Tal Afar. The first bomber threw a grenade on exiting worshippers then blew himself up. The second bomber was shot dead before he could reach his targets.

A U.S. air strike killed eight members of the same family in Hawija. Women and children were among the dead.

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Thursday Iraq Report

February 14, 2008
Thursday: 31 Iraqis Killed, 40 Wounded

At least 31 people were killed or found dead and 40 more were wounded during the latest attacks, which included a serious bombing in Sadr City. No Coalition deaths were reported. Also, a British journalist held in Basra is said to be in good heath and awaiting release.

In Baghdad, five people were killed and 33 were wounded during a car bombing in the Sadr City suburb.

Nine people were shot dead in Ouja, the hometown of Saddam Hussein. Gunmen entered the home of a construction worker and killed his family, including his wife and children.

Flip-flopping Maverick Saint McCain


I use to have a modicum of respect for John McCain. There was an element of independence from him in a party that doesn't suffer well dissent in it's ranks. But that "Maverick" is no more. His transformation from so called maverick, to flip-flopping panderer to the amoral right, is sad to see. In the National Journal article I am linking to, McCain's pathetic effort to justify his vote against making waterboarding illegal for all government agencies is both enraging and so weak as to be laughable.
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McCain's vote against the bill seemed to contradict his public statements opposing torture generally and the practice of waterboarding in particular. McCain, who is trying to appeal to his party's conservative base, told reporters he believes his position is consistent.

"We always supported allowing the CIA to use extra measures. I believe that waterboarding is illegal and should be banned," he said.

"My position was very clear," he added. "We have said... that we would allow the CIA to use additional techniques that were not in violation of the anti-torture convention, that were not in violation of the Geneva Conventions and were not in violation of the Detainee Treatment Act."

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Tueday Iraq Report

Tuesday: 46 Iraqis Killed, 18 Wounded

Updated at 7:35 p.m. EST, Feb. 12, 2008

As Coalition and Iraqi forces secure more areas in Iraq, the number of mass graves found has increased. The latest was found in Muqdadiyah, while several more bodies were discovered scattered around Baquba. Overall, at least 46 Iraqis were killed or found dead and 18 more were wounded in attacks. No Coalition deaths were reported.

A grave containing 13 bodies was found in Muqdadiyah.

Seven bodies were found in villages around Baquba.

In Baghdad, the body of a local journalist was found; three unidentified bodies were also recovered. In Doura, mortar fire killed two people and wounded eight others. A roadside bomb wounded a policeman in Karrada. No casualties were reported during a bombing on Canal Street and another in Baladiyat.


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Monday, February 11, 2008

Sadr Wants To Extend "Activities Halt"


I like that, "activities halt". Or in plain English or any other language -- killing Americans--. I read something like this and I feel like going outside and howling at the friekin' moon. All the bullshit about the success of the surge is mostly just that, bullshit. I say for the hundredth time-- the reasons for the lull in violence is because the Iraqi's wanted a lull in violence. Does anyone with a brain think that the Sunnis are going to accept the status quo as it currently is. With Baghdad largely controlled by Shia and a central government the same. In any civil war there are always periods like this when loyalties shift along with tactics and strategies. Exactly nothing is settled and won't be as long as we're trying to run the circus. No matter how good our military is or honorable our intentions may be.
These are proud people who been fighting for 1400 years. As much as we would like them to stop and become peaceful democrats, it ain't gonna happen till Iraqi's want it to.
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Iraq News
Sadr to extend activities halt decision

Monday, February 11, 2008 11:14 GMT
Sayyed Moktada Al Sadr had earlier issued a statement during which he announced that all those who breach the decision of activities halt will be dismissed. Yet, it seems that this decision will be extended for 6 additional months. Sadrist Movement sources revealed that the Leader of the movement insists on extending this period. Sources told Al Hayat Newspaper that Al Sadr will announce this issue in the few upcoming days. To that, an official in the bloc who refused to reveal his name said that the next step would be to head towards participating in institutions and to resort to law as a referee.
Based on these principles, Sheikh Hazem Al Talkani, another official in the movement expected that extending the decision of activitiesn halt will not be the last and it would carry on until restructuring Al Mahdi army and transforming the same into a humanitarian organization akin to Badr forces.
Yet, the aforementioned decision warns that Sadrist movement could undergo further splits especially that this decision contradicts the reports submitted by the committees established by the movement especially the parliamentary committee. Actually, the reports utter that the decision of activities halt facilitated targeting the movement’s leaderships, arresting its members and carrying out organized assassinations against them. The director of Al Sadr media office in Al Najaf Sheikh Salah Al Ubaidi said that some of Al Sadr leaderships asked him to cancel halt decision and added that these calls increased following the visit from Mahdi Army members who were detained in Diwaniya after the armed battles that took place there. Especially that it has been revealed that the local authority in the province mistreated Al Sadr followers.
Nevertheless, others, such as a commander of an Al Mahdi army battalion in Al Kufa, went even farther by uttering skepticism as to Al Sadr decision. The commander told Al Hayat Newspaper that there is a conspiracy against Al Mahdi army that aims to liquidate it. He also wondered whether those who staged this conspiracy are members of the movement or outsiders. In addition, he considered that the decision to dismiss is an implicit announcement of abandoning Al Mahdi army members and it legitimizes the presence of foreign troops.


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Very Interesting

A group of British Judges will decide if the Blair government breached it's duty to ensure the invasion of Iraq was legal. I'm not an expert or even a novice at understanding the British system of justice, but this sounds pretty serious. Well here is the article that explains it. Needless to say the Brits go about things different than we do.
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* Published Date: 12 February 2008
* Source: Press Association
* Location: The Press Association Newsdesk


Government 'breached duty' on Iraq

The Blair Government breached its duty to the men and women of the armed forces by failing to ensure in advance that the invasion of Iraq was lawful and justified, a powerful committee of nine Law Lords has been told.
"That duty is owed to soldiers who are under the unique compulsory control of the State and have to obey orders," said Rabinder Singh QC, for the mothers of two 19-year-old men killed in Iraq.

"They have to put their lives in harm's way if necessary because their country demands it. There is what some people call a military covenant between the State and those who are literally prepared to put their lives at risk for the sake of their country."

The Lords are hearing a renewed bid by Beverley Clarke and Rose Gentle to force the government to order a public inquiry into Britain's involvement in the Iraq conflict.

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Why can't we have something like this in America. It sound highly democratic to be able to directly petition a high court to accuse the government of bad faith or even criminality. That could be why we have a President wittingly or unwittingly presiding over an administration that appears more like a crime syndicate than anything else. The following paragraph does offer suspicious goings on about how Blair got the legal go ahead to join up with Bush for the disaster of Iraq. I think maybe the Brits were taking lessons from Asscroft and Gonzo et al...on how to shine up a lawless turd.
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At the centre of the argument over whether the decision to invade was lawful is the families' demand for an explanation as to how 13 pages of "equivocal" advice from the then Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, of March 7 2003, was reduced within 10 days to one page of completely unequivocal advice that an invasion would be legal.

********************************8
Sound like they got additional lessons from Herr Cheney on "we can do any fucking thing we want, if we say it's Ok!"





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Monday Iraq Report


February 11, 2008
Monday: 1 US Soldier, 25 Iraqis Killed; 53 Iraqis Wounded


Although Egyptian President Hosni Mubarek said that U.S. presence on Iraq is a destabilizing force in the region, U.S. Defense Secretary Gates hinted that a pause in the drawdown of American troops in Iraq is likely. Meanwhile, one American soldier was killed and two more were wounded during an IED explosion yesterday in Diyala province. Also, at least 25 Iraqis were killed or found dead and another 53 wounded in separate events.

In Baghdad, twin car bombs were detonated at a petrol station adjacent to a Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC) office in Jadiriyah. At least 17 people were killed and 45 others were wounded. The SIIC is the largest Shi'ite party and has been targeted in the past.


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Updated at 1:20 a.m. EST, Feb.11, 2008

Although Egyptian President Hosni Mubarek said that U.S. presence on Iraq is a destabilizing force in the region, U.S. Defense Secretary Gates hinted that a pause in the drawdown of American troops in Iraq is likely. Meanwhile, one American soldier was killed and two more were wounded during an IED explosion yesterday in Diyala province. At least 40 Iraqis were killed or found dead and another 67 wounded in separate events. Also, CBS news journalist and his translator were kidnapped in Basra.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Sunday Iraq Report


Sunday: 86 Iraqis Killed, 84 Wounded

Updated at 5:05 p.m. EST, Feb. 10, 2008

As U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates made a surprise visit to Iraq to meet with political leaders and military commanders, at least 86 Iraqis were killed and 84 more were wounded in new attacks. No Coalition deaths were reported, but a U.S. soldier was found guilty in of murdering an Iraqi.

A suicide car bomber near Balad blasted a Yathrib area checkpoint manned by Iraqi police and Awakening Council members. At least 33 were killed and 35 more were injured.


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A Sad Iraq Tale

As a liberal and a vet who has opposed the Iraq war from the very beginning, the case of Sgt. Evan Vela is one of the sadder events in a long litany of unnecessary death and destruction from Mr. Bush's bloody decision to invade Iraq. His conviction today, of unpremeditated murder, causes me more than a little mixed emotion. As noted in the following AP article, the events leading up to Sgt. Vela's killing of an unarmed Iraqi does not, in my opinion , present "a simple case of murder", as described by military prosecutors. I know my fellow liberals will not agree with my assessment {and that's putting it mildly} . It seems to me however, that this case should not have been brought to trial and has more to do with Vela cast as a scapegoat to show the public {Iraqi and American} the US military is serious about holding troops accountable for war crimes.

This case is not like Haditha or the gang rape and murder of a 14 year old Iraqi girl by several soldiers who set out to do just that. This is a case of exausted, overworked GI's put in an impossible life and death situation that caused Vela to use poor judgment. But to convict him of murder reminds me of the line in Apocalypse Now where Martin Sheen's character, Captain Willard questions the military's label of murderer to Colonel Kurtz.
Willard: How many people had I already killed? There was those six that I know about for sure. Close enough to blow their last breath in my face. But this time it was an American and an officer. That wasn't supposed to make any difference to me, but it did. Shit... charging a man with murder in this place was like handing out speeding tickets in the Indy 500. I took the mission. What the hell else was I gonna do?


Anyways, here is the AP article and you can decide for yourself if this young man is really guilty of murder in a ultra confused war zone. I say the people who put them there and overworked them to the point of utter exhaustion are to blame and it is they who should be brought to account.


By BRADLEY BROOKS, Associated Press Writer Sun Feb 10, 9:05 AM ET


BAGHDAD - A U.S. Army sniper accused of killing an unarmed Iraqi civilian and planting evidence on his body was found guilty on all charges Sunday.
ADVERTISEMENT

Jurors deliberated for three hours before finding Sgt. Evan Vela guilty of murder without premeditation. He had previously been charged with premeditated murder, but that charge was changed during his court-martial in Baghdad

Here is the link for the rest of the article

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Saturday, February 9, 2008

Saturday Iraq Report



February 8, 2008
Friday: 5 US Soldiers, 31 Iraqis Killed; 17 Iraqis Wounded


Updated at 2:45 p.m. EST, Feb. 8, 2008

At least 31 Iraqis were killed or found dead and 17 more were wounded in the latest violence. Clashes took place in a pair of Diyala province cities and a mass grave was found just outside Baquba. Five American soldiers were killed in two separate incidents. Also, an imam in Kufa accused U.S. forces of abusing a ceasefire in order to harass followers of Moqtada al-Sadr.

Four American soldiers were killed today during an IED explosion northwest of Baghdad. Another American soldier was killed and three more were wounded during a bombing in At Ta'Mim province.
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So the surge is working GOP nominee McCain. As you see, we lost 5 more American soldiers today in two separate bomb attacks. Those of us who follow the Iraq war a little more closely would disagree with your assessment sir. The violence has been in a lull because Iraqi's have chosen to make it so. Please read the following article and face realty. It is from the International Crisis Group and they have a little different take on what is going on in Iraq.
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Iraq’s Civil War, the Sadrists and the Surge

Middle East Report N°72
7 February 2008

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The dramatic decline in bloodshed in Iraq – at least until last week’s terrible market bombings in Baghdad – is largely due to Muqtada al-Sadr’s August 2007 unilateral ceasefire. Made under heavy U.S. and Iraqi pressure and as a result of growing discontent from his own Shiite base, Muqtada’s decision to curb his unruly movement was a positive step. But the situation remains highly fragile and potentially reversible. If the U.S. and others seek to press their advantage and deal the Sadrists a mortal blow, these gains are likely to be squandered, with Iraq experiencing yet another explosion of violence. The need is instead to work at converting Muqtada’s unilateral measure into a more comprehensive multilateral ceasefire that can create conditions for the movement to evolve into a fully legitimate political actor.

The Sadrists appeared on a steady rise in 2006 and early 2007. They controlled new territory, particularly in and around Baghdad, attracted new recruits, accumulated vast resources and infiltrated the police. But as the civil war engulfed much of the country, Iraqis witnessed the Sadrists’ most brutal and thuggish side. Their increasingly violent and undisciplined militia, the Mahdi Army, engaged in abhorrent sectarian killings and resorted to plunder and theft. Militants claiming to be Mahdi Army members executed untold numbers of Sunnis, allegedly in response to al-Qaeda’s ruthless attacks, but more often than not merely because they were Sunnis.

The Sadrists were victims of their own success. Their movement’s vastly increased wealth, membership and range of action led to greater corruption, weaker internal cohesion and a popular backlash. Divisions within the movement deepened; splinter groups – often little more than criminal offshoots – proliferated. As a result, anti-Sadrist sentiment grew, including among Muqtada’s Shiite constituency. The U.S. surge, which saw the injection of thousands of additional troops, particularly in Baghdad, worsened the Sadrists’ situation, checking and, in some instances, reversing the Mahdi Army’s territorial expansion. Finally, in August 2007, major clashes erupted in the holy city of Karbala between members of Muqtada’s movement and the rival Shiite Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI), which further eroded the Sadrists’ standing.

In reaction, Muqtada announced a six-month freeze on all Mahdi Army activities. It applies to all groups affiliated (loosely or otherwise) with the Mahdi Army, and Muqtada reportedly dispatched his most loyal fighters to tame holdouts. Most importantly, his order removed the veil of legitimacy and lifted the impunity that many groups – criminal gangs operating in the Mahdi Army’s name and Sadrist units gone astray – had enjoyed.

The ceasefire largely has held and, together with bolstered U.S. and Iraqi military presence in Baghdad, helps account for a dramatic drop in violence. But the respite, although welcome, is both slightly misleading and exceedingly frail. Muqtada’s decision likely reflected a pragmatic calculation: that a halt in hostilities would help restore his credibility and allow him to reorganise his forces and wait out the U.S. presence. Their retreat notwithstanding, the Sadrists remain deeply entrenched and extremely powerful in a number of regions. Fleeing military pressure in Baghdad, Mahdi Army fighters redeployed to the south, thereby setting up the potential for an escalation of the class-based confrontation with the U.S.-backed ISCI.

Among Sadrist rank and file, impatience with the ceasefire is high and growing. They equate it with a loss of power and resources, believe the U.S. and ISCI are conspiring to weaken the movement and eagerly await Muqtada’s permission to resume the fight. The Sadrist leadership has resisted the pressure, but this may not last. Critics accuse Muqtada of passivity or worse, and he soon may conclude that the costs of his current strategy outweigh its benefits. In early February 2008, senior Sadrist officials called upon their leader not to prolong the ceasefire, due to expire later in the month.

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So it appears only the good intentions of Al Sadr's Mehdi Army will keep the lull in effect-- Not the small increase in American troops you call "the surge"

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Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Tuesday Iraq Report


Yup, no civil war in Iraq. The following is just more MSM biased reporting on bad stuff in Iraq and not on the good stuff. It all makes me want to barf!
February 5, 2008
Tuesday: 83 Iraqis Killed, 7 Wounded; Mass Grave Found

Updated at 6:15 p.m. EST, Feb. 5, 2008

A mass grave containing dozens of bodies was discovered west of Samarra. Elsewhere, a small but deadly U.S. raid on a civilian residence was reported for the second day in a row. Overall, 83 Iraqis were reported killed or found dead, and seven were wounded across Iraq. No Coalition casualties were reported.

Updated at 12:45 a.m. EST, Feb. 6, 2008

A mass grave containing dozens of bodies was discovered west of Samarra. Elsewhere, a small but deadly U.S. raid on a civilian residence was reported for the second day in a row. Overall, 90 Iraqis were reported killed or found dead, and seven were wounded across Iraq. Three American servicemembers were reported killed in two separate incidents.

Two Navy SEALS were killed yesterday during a small arms attack in an unspecified location. Another soldier died due from injuries received the day before, when an IED blasted his patrol in Muqdadiyah.

Monday, February 4, 2008

Monday Iraq Report


Monday: 39 Iraqis Killed, 24 Wounded

Updated at 6:45 p.m. EST, Feb. 4, 2008

Turkish warplanes resumed bombing Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) targets in northern Iraq. The number of casualties, if any, is unknown. Elsewhere, at least 39 Iraqis were killed and 24 more were wounded in various attacks. No Coalition deaths were reported. Also, influential Mahdi Army leaders are pressuring Moqtada al-Sadr not to extend a ceasefire believed to have seriously reduced violence across Iraq.

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Sunday Iraq Report


Sunday: 2 US Soldiers, 21 Iraqis Killed; 10 Iraqis Wounded

Updated at 6:50 p.m. Feb. 3, 2008

In an attempt to quell bad feelings between Sunnis and Shi’ites, the Iraq parliament passed a law allowing former Ba’ath Party members to return to the posts they held during the Saddam regime; however, there is a possibility that the law could be overturned during an automatic review process. Separately, a spokesman for the Baghdad security plan held a news conference where he described the deteriorating infrastructure Baghdad residents suffer through. Otherwise, it was a light news day with only 21 Iraqis killed and 10 more wounded in recent attacks. Also, two American soldiers were reported killed.

Saturday Iraq Report


February 2, 2008
Saturday: 31 Iraqis Killed, 24 Wounded

Updated at 9:00 p.m. EST, Feb. 2, 2008

At least 31 Iraqis were killed and another 24 were wounded across Iraq as relative quiet returned to Baghdad a day after massive explosions killed nearly a hundred people. Four Saudi gunmen were also killed. On the other hand, no Coalition deaths were reported so far this month.

Friday, February 1, 2008

Wingnuts Say the Strangest Things


The following quote comes from the right wing blog Blue Crab Boulevard . It is a post commenting on Captain Ed's sort of chastising of Ann Coulter, uber wingnut flamethrower, and conservative psycho-bitch from hell.

"Maybe that's a harsh way to put it, but maybe it is time for some harsh words. I regularly castigate the same behavior coming from the left. I do not wish to see the right go down that same road."

Dear Mr. Blue Crab,

The road you speak of was built by the conservative movement for the sole purpose of smearing liberals and democrats without limit or remorse. The "I regularly castigate the same behavior coming from the left" is just priceless. No doubt some democrats have attempted to respond in kind to the Coulter's of your GOP, and yes, there are plenty more smear merchants besides her. However, their attempts fall well short of the abject depravity standards we've become accustomed to from republican "hard ball politics".

Given the foul opinion most Americans currently hold on republicans, I think it wise your apparent willingness to make some much needed changes in the GOP style of gutter politicking.
However, lancing the festering boil of Coulter, is only a small step where broad leaps are required to clean up your act. I firmly believe you will eventually re-invent the Republican Party and conservative movement. but it most likely will take a few more electoral thrashings like 2006.

In the meantime, may I offer a bit of advice. Projecting your inadequacies onto democrats will never work, though I suspect you will learn this like everything else--slow and painful.

Dear God -- Carnage In Bagdad


updated 3:45 a.m. MT, Fri., Feb. 1, 2008 via MSNBC

BAGHDAD - A female suicide bomber blew herself up at the main pet market in central Baghdad, killing at least 46 people and wounding dozens, police said, the deadliest bombing to strike the capital since 30,000 more American forces flooded into central Iraq last spring.

About 20 minutes later, a second female suicide bomber struck another bird market in a predominantly Shiite area in southeastern Baghdad. That blast killed at least 18 people and wounded 25, police said.

Friday: 85 Iraqis Killed, 175 Wounded

Updated at 2:55 p.m. EST, Feb. 1, 2008

Bombers in Baghdad ratcheted up the violence on this prayer day by attacking multiple pet markets. Overall at least 85 Iraqis were killed and 175 more were wounded across Iraq. No Coalition troops were reported killed.

Update --Friday: 110 Iraqis Killed, 215 Wounded