Peace & War: The Iraqi/Afghan War |
The Iraqi/Afghan War: how we got into it, how it is being prosecuted, how we find ways to get out of it. Iraqi/Afghan War Link Archives - Page 1 HEADLINES:
1/4/09 As the Taliban grows in strength in Afghanistan and a new U.S. presidential administration promises at least 20,000 additional troops to counter that insurgency, Afghanistan and Pakistan move front and center in the "war on terror," and Americans will need to get used to daily dispatches that focus on conflict in Kabul and Islamabad rather than Baghdad. http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0102/p05s01-wosc.html
Books: Weapons of Mass Deception: http://www.prwatch.org/books/wmd.html Milan Rai, Regime Unchanged: Why the War Went Wrong: http://www.j-n-v.org/book.htm What We Owe to Iraq: http://www.pupress.princeton.edu/titles/7833.html
Websites:
Anti-war.com: http://antiwar.com/ Information Clearing House: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/ Iraqi and Afghanistan Veterans of America, the war from soldiers' perspectives: http://www.operationtruth.com/ IraqJournal.org, dispatches from unembedded reporters in Iraq: http://www.iraqjournal.org/ Global Policy Forum. Iraq and U.S. foreign policy: http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/irqindx.htm Dahr Jamail's Iraq dispatches (blog): http://dahrjamailiraq.com/weblog/ Conflict in Iraq: Concerns and Consequences (not up to date but much early material on the war): http://www.iraqconflict.org/ American Library Associaton, Alternative Resources on U.S. War Against Iraq (with many links): http://www.pitt.edu/~ttwiss/irtf/iraq.html UMass/Amherst Library collection of Iraqi war resources: many links to other websites: http://www.library.umass.edu/subject/iraqwar/ CBC News in depth: Iraq: http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/iraq/index.html BBC News: the Struggle for Iraq: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/middle_east/2002/conflict_with_iraq/default.stm Electronic Iraq: http://electroniciraq.net/news/
Analysis & views: 1/4/09 As the Taliban grows in strength in Afghanistan and a new U.S. presidential administration promises at least 20,000 additional troops to counter that insurgency, Afghanistan and Pakistan move front and center in the "war on terror," and Americans will need to get used to daily dispatches that focus on conflict in Kabul and Islamabad rather than Baghdad. http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0102/p05s01-wosc.html 12/27/08 What does the U.S.-touted "regional approach" to the Afghan war presage for Asian nations? According to M.K. Bhadrakumar, this call by Admiral Mullen suggests an intensification of the Afghan war as "politics by other means," a way of advancing U.S. geo-political power in the region. India in particular is vulnerable to being drawn into this "regionalized" conflict as it alone, among the great powers and their satellites in central and south Asia, has hitched its diplomatic wagon to its foreign policy ties to the U.S. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21532.htm 12/23/08 Thrower of shoe at Bush goes on trial in Iraq as his family claims that he has been tortured in prison http://www.nationalpost.com/news/world/story.html?id=1105804 12/21/08 What happnes to foreign forces in Iraq after UN mandate permitting them expires next week?: It has been assumed that, absent bilateral agreements like the Status of Forces Agreement with the U.S., all forces must leave. This is a matter of some confusion in Iraqi parliament, which thought it had validated that interpretation, only to learn that the Iraqi PM al-Maliki claims to have his own agreement with British PM Brown to keep UK forces in Iraq until next May. http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081220/wl_mideast_afp/iraqbritainmilitarypolitics 12/21/08 AFGHAN AND PAKISTANI GOVERNMENTS ARE THOROUGHLY CORRUPT, AND U.S. MILTARY AND DIPLOMATIC EFFORT SHOULD DEMAND END OF THIS CORRUPTION. So says an Afghan activist, Sarah Chayes, in op-ed article and TV interview with Bill Moyers. Several of the commenters on a Common Dreams article that highlights her views express disagreement that the U.S. government and especially its military forces are capable of achieving this result. http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/12/20-6#comment-1096669 12/21/08 JCS chairman Mullen now says U.S. will need up to 30,000 troops in Afghanistan in order to "hold' the areas of the country that have been "cleared." http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7793772.stm 12/19/08 Justin Raimondo reflects on the saga of the Baghdad shoe-thrower, Muntadar al-Zeidi, and suggests that his act may be the woeful paradigm for future expressions of opposition to U.S. foreign policy. As Bush slinks into the sunset and the new era of Obama dawns, it appears that Sisyphus will be arising to roll the same stone of imperial hubris up a mountain of protest of futile military action, this time the mountain will be named "Afghanistan." http://antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=13915 12/18/08 The jailed Iraqi reporter who threw his shoes at President Bush, Muntadar al-Zeidi, has become a "folk hero" in Iraq, symbolizing popular dissatisfaction with the U.S. occupation. When students at the university of Fallujah held a rally to protest his detention and some made gestures of lifting their shoes to U.S. troops, they were fired on by those troops, wounding one student. (Other links to Baghdad's "shoe-thrower are shown). http://news.antiwar.com/2008/12/17/us-troops-clash-with-fallujah-students-at-shoe-rally/ 12/17/08 U.S. commanders now say forces will be out of Iraqi cities by June 30, as SOFA requires (except in Mosul): . In this city near the Syrian border, al Qaeda Iraq is putting up fierce resistance as it claims to be the government in exile of Iraq and coalition and Iraqi forces have shown little success in countering their claims. http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1217/p01s01-wome.html 12/17/08 British PM Gordon Brown says last British troops in Iraq, now stationed in Basra, will be out of the country by next July. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7787103.stm 12/16/08 "It didn't bother me, and if you want the facts it was a size 10 shoe he thre at me.": President Bush "laughs off" the action of an Iraqi reporter who threw both his shoes at him during a Baghdad press conference. The reporter is said to have been disturbed by his coverage of an earlier U.S. bombing of a Shiite area of Baghdad. http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/57803.html 12/15/08 In the just-concluded Status of Forces Agreement between the U.S. and Iraq, there was a firm commitment by the U.S. to remove all forces from Iraqi cities by June 30, 2009. Now top U.S. General Ray Odierno says it may be necessary to retain those forces past that deadline. This and similar indications that the U.S. will have a "flexible" interpretation of SOFA's terms lead Iraqis to wonder whether they can trust that the U.S. will honor any of the terms of that agreement. http://news.antiwar.com/2008/12/14/sadr-bloc-sees-growing-evidence-us-wont-honor-pact/ 12/14/08 Is there to be a "Cyprus solution" in Iraq?:Justin Raimondo suggests that this seems to be in the works. Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense in the out-going Bush administration and Secretary of Defense to-be in the Obama one, tells George Will in an interview that U.S. troops might have to remain in Iraq as British ones did in Cyprus, where they put down a revolt in 1956 and have remained there til today. Absent Obama's repudiation of this, it appears that his statement that "we seek no permanent bases" is a little hollow. http://anti-war.com/justin/?articleid=13891 12/13/08 Iraqi PM Nouri al Maliki "sold" Iraqi Parliament on the Status of Forces Agreement with the U.S. which that body approved by assurances that (absent a new agreement) all U.S. forces in Iraq would by out by 2011. Iraqi's spokesman in D.C. Ali al Dabbagh, rattles officials in Baghdad by saying that Iraq might very likely be needing U.S. presence in the country for another 10 years. With a referendum on SOFA coming up early next year, hopes for its passage dim after the Dabbagh remark http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/57707.html 12/12/08 Taliban is growing increasingly bold in Afghanistan in its attacks on NATO supply convoys. http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=45084 12/11/08 Australian special services unit is serving as "death squad" for military operations in Afghanistan:. An incident of the "mistaken" killing of an occupation-friendly Afghan leader in a operation that was supposed to have taken out a Taliban leader highlights the employment of Australian troops in assassinations of people in occupied countries reminiscent of the Operation Phoenix program during the Viet Nam war. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21430.htm 12/10/08 An international fact-finding agency issues report saying that 72% of Afghanistan is under the control of the Taliban, and politicians from Kabul to Washington are in denial about the reality of the situation in that country. Yvonne Ridley takes a ride around the countryside as a reporter and nearly gets killed for her efforts: a good antidote for anyone's denial. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21428.htm 12/9/08 Wait a minute...Is it January of '65 or January of '09 that's about to come up? With a new presidency to be inaugurated in January, Norman Solomon sees an eery similarity with the situation when LBJ was inaugurated in 1965. Then, as now, a new President was facing a failing war---Viet Nam in 65, Afghanistan in 09---and, against all reason, the consensus of both major parties is that the President must escalate the U.S. military presence in the theatre of combat operations. In this "silent winter of escalation" the way is apparently being prepared for another disastrous failure that may bring down the Obama presidency as it did the Johnson one. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21420.htm 12/6/08 With no SOFA to lie on in Iraq, remaining members of "Coalition of the Willing" except U.S. and UK will leave Iraq by end of this month: The U.S. has already negotiated, as the U.K. expects to do, a Status of Forces Agreement allowing U.S. military presence in Iraq after end of this year. Others, if they haven't already given up their Iraqi adventures, must do so now. 12/4/08 Are U.S. troops coming home from Iraq? Don't hold your breath to be exhaled on inauguration day, 2009. Campaign promises to "end the war in Iraq" are now being re-calibrated as the next administration moves toward "reality" and Obama is reminding Americans that he only promised to remove "combat forces" in 16 months and indicated that a "residual force" might have to be left behind until such time as "ground commanders" indicate they are no longer needed, including the possibility of (by mutual agreement with Iraq) leaving these forces there beyond the 2011 "deadline" for withdrawal set by SOFA. 12/4/08 UN report accuses Iraqi government of "grave human rights violations" in its treatment of detainees. http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=44967 12/3/08 If Obama "reaches across the aisle" to seek supporters for his policy of increasing troop commitment to Afghanistan while reducing that in Iraq, he will find plenty of GOP takers as well as those of this own party. Before this policy is advanced, this essay by Michael Parenti might be required reading for those who yet fail to realize how past U.S. actions in the country, both covert and public, have served to de-stabilize the only likely sources of peace and justice in Afghanistan. http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/12/02 11/27/08 Who cares about what the Iraqi people think about the Status of Forces Agreement? While the Iraqi Parliament delays approval of SOFA to allow U.S. troops to remain in Iraq after the end of this year in order to allow a popular referendum on the subject, U.S. Secretary of State says the implementation of the agreement on January 1 will not be delayed by any such referendum. http://wiredispatch.com/news/?id=467714 11/23/08 SOFA: A view from the far side.... Commentator for American Conservative notes how Bush administration continues to stonewall Congress and the American people from the "specifics" of the Status of Forces Agreement now being debated in the Iraqi Parliament. The reasons are clear enough from the known contents of SOFA, which gives Iraq veto power over U.S. military operations and lifts immunity of U.S. troops from Iraqi prosecution. There is also a Pentagon insistence that military commanders and not the elected representatives of the people (except maybe their President) will determine when any terms of SOFA need to be modified. http://www.amconmag.com/blog/2008/11/20/kids-get-your-feet-off-the-sofa/ 11/21/08 George, Laura, Barney and Robert: The foursome who have kept the U.S. in Iraq. In 2005, facing great pressure to begin to withdraw troops from Iraq, he said he would not do so even if "only his wife Laura and dog Barney" agreed with him. When Donald Rumsfeld exited the stage, he was replaced by Robert (Gates) who changed his colors from a proponent of phased withdrawal to supporting the "stay the course" policy as he replaced Rumsfeld as Secretary of Defense. Now, to the befuddlement of Ray McGovern, "anti-war" Obama is considering keeping Gates on at the Pentagon, and he wonders "what could Barack Obama be thinking?" http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21275.htm 11/21/08 Another day in the life of the Iraqi parliament:. As Parliament begins consideration of the Status of Forces Agreement to establish conditions of U.S. presence in Iraq after 2008, anger at the agreement is so vociferous that not even a reading of the SOFA document can be achieved as opponents rip the document from the hands of a speaker, Moqtada al-Sadr demands and gets an adjournment and the shouting and pushing spills into the hallways. Prospects of Parliament approval seem darker than ever. http://news.antiwar.com/2008/11/19/iraqi-parliament-debate-on-pact-erupts-in-chaos/ 11/21/08 Moqtada al-Sadr puts thousands of Iraqis on the streets to protest the proposed Status of Forces Agreement with the United States. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7741263.stm 11/19/08 "Three years is a long time. Conditions could change in that period of time." Statement of U.S. Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Michael Mullen, in response to terms of the Status of Forces Agreement under consideration by Iraqi Parliament. The SOFA specifies total withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of 2011, regardless of "conditions on the ground." Mullen will apparently counsel President Obama that the terms of SOFA might be "re-visited" if those conditions three years from now are deemed not to be favorable to withdrawal. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21260.htm 11/18/08 Iraqi cabinet approves Status of Forces agreement for U.S. presence in Iraq, saying it contains firm deadlines for troop withdrawal, not contingent on conditions when these deadlines arrive. http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE4AF0GY20081116 11/15/08 “If they keep bases, then I would support an honorable resistance.":. Prospects are uncertain for action of Iraqi cabinet in forwarding to Iraqi Parliament the proposed Status of Forces Agreement on keeping U.S. presence in Iraq beyond December 31. The "honorable resistance" is cleric Moktada al-Sadr's exhortation to his followers and includes the possbility of armed resistance. Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani preaches non-violence but has held anti-occupation demonstrations in the past. Even the Kurdish supporters of the SOFA are beginning to have doubts http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/15/world/middleeast/15iraq.html?th&emc=th 11/12/08 The ever-growing Afghan insurgency, and what to do about it:. CBS news reports documents the escalating violence in the country and speaks with a foreign policy expert who advocates for a "regional" approach to the conflict that will "bring in" Pakistan as well as India and China. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/11/11/eveningnews/main4594109.shtml?tag=topStories 11/8/08 VOICES OF IRAQ: OBAMA'S CAMPAIGN PROMISE OF 16 MONTH TROOP WITHDRAWAL MAY BE "DEAD BEFORE IT STARTS" WHILE OTHERS IN THE WILLING COALITION WILL DEFINITELY LEAVE EARLY NEXT YEAR. While Obama continues to "adjust" his timetable with information from ground commanders, Britain, Hungary, Bulgaria and South Korea will just be saying no to further troop involvement. U.S. http://news.antiwar.com/2008/11/07/is-obamas-iraq-timetable-dead-before-it-started/ BRITAIN: http://en.aswataliraq.info/?p=102686 HUNGARY, BULGARIA, SOUTH KOREA: 11/7/08 "Tenor" of Iraqi politics may change as result of Obama election:. This is at least the tune that reporters for New York Times seem to hear from their interviews with Iraqi politicians, who appear to be more willing to sign off on the Status of Forces Agreement with the U.S. as they believe that Obama is more likely than McCain would have been to "respect" the timelines for U.S. withdrawal that are contained in the agreement. 11/6/08 Baghdad's most powerful man challenges Washington's most powerful man to pull U.S. troops from Iraq: - Spokesman for "Sadrist bloc" makes this call on President-elect Obama. The Sadrists reflect the power of Muqtada al Sadr and his Mahdi Army, which is the de facto government of Sadr City in Baghdad and a powerful element in the fragile coalition of forces supporting the Iraqi government. http://en.aswataliraq.info/?p=102537 11/6/08 Another "precision " air strike in Afghanistan misses its insurgent target and hits a wedding: Around 36 people in a wedding party in a Kandahar village are struck by missiles from a called-in air strike following a ground skirmish in the surrounding mountains between Taliban and "coalition" forces. Ground troops arrive in the village and are said to "intimidate" the civilians. Canada denies that the troops were their own. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081104.wafghan1105/BNStory/International/home 11/6/08 Danish intelligency agency admits that its information about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction used to propel Denmark into the coalition that invaded Iraqi was faulty information. http://www.cphpost.dk/get/109787.html 10/25/08 U.S. "success" in Iraq leaves a devastated country:. Michael Schwartz gives a graphic description of the "economic basket case" the country has become since the 2003 invasion. http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/10/24-12 10/23/08 Final draft of "Status of Forces Agreement" between U.S. and Iraq is described as a "crushing defeat" for U.S. war aims, although in even this relatively Iraqi-favorable form, it is unlikely to pass the Iraqi Parliament. http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=44394 10/20/08 Just what does that proposed "Status of Forces" agreement between the U.S. and Iraq say? The Associated Press throws increased light on that subject with a leaked publication of excerpts from a document they translated from the Arabic (translations are always a difficulty) and the terms seem to give the Iraqi government a large element of sovereignty, including the right to request U.S. withdrawal at any time, Iraqi control of Iraqi air space, and right to veto U.S. military operations; along with the previously leaked deadlines for U.S. presence in the country. It is unclear whether the representation of Iraqi sovereignty in this document will "sell" in the Iraqi Parliament. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21050.htm 10/19/08 If the Status of Forces Agreement between the U.S. and Iraq fails to pass the Iraqi parliament, a scapegoat for the failure may be under construction: With popular feeling and protests in Iraqi running high as word leaks out at the contents of the agreement to leave U.S. forces in the country after the end of this year, General Odierno, commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, suggests that Iran may be bribing members of the Iraqi parliament to vote against its approval. Iranian news agency reports that Iraqi government officials are incensed at the General's statement. (Since the U.S. has had former Sunni Arab insurgents on its payroll for months to bolster Iraqi security, this "bribery" claim strikes a rather hypocritical note.) http://www.farsnews.com/English/newstext.php?nn=8707250794 10/19/08 Thousands of Moqtada al-Sadr followers march in Baghdad street to protest Status of Forces agreement with the United States. http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE49E6BY20081018 10/18/08 The future of U.S. occupation in Iraq may look a lot like the past five-and-a-half years:. U.S. officials start briefing members of Congress (who won't get a vote on the matter) on the terms of a Status of Forces agreement between the U.S. and Iraq to cover American presence in the country after the end of this year. Though it has some concessions to Iraqi preferences on the matter, it is basically the "we'll stand down when they stand up" policy of the U.S. withdrawing when Iraqi security forces are capable of taking over the fight against the insurgency. The concessions would involve a firm withdrawal date for the end of 2011 (except by "mutual agreement") and a removal of U.S. forces from Iraqi cities and villages and into bases in the country by June 30, 2009 (earlier if the Iraqis are able to stand up in those places) and allowing civilian military contractors (but not soldiers who allegedly commit crime while "on duty") to be tried in Iraqi courts for crimes against Iraqi citizens. Left out of this New York Times article is the information from Iraqi-connected sources that there is little to no chance that the Iraqi Parliament will approve the agreement, which would probably meet a revolt of the Iraqi people. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/18/washington/18military.html?th&emc=th 10/17/08 SOFA is no bed of roses in Iraqi parliament:. As the Iraqi government submits to Parliament the negotiated agreement with the U.S. of a "Status of Forces Agreement" to keep U.S. troops in Iraq beyond 2008, it is reported to be "unlikely" that such approval will be forthcoming. http://news.antiwar.com/2008/10/16/sofa-faces-increasingly-thorny-path-in-iraqi-parliament/ 10/17/08 Former Mayor of Herat Province in Afghanistan becomes Taliban leader and vows not to negotiate with Afghan government until foreign troops leave the country. http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2008/10/200810173815406492.html 10/16/08 U.S. and Iraqi negotiators reach SOFA to keep U.S. forces in Iraq through 2011. The Status of Forces Agreement, which also includes an unspecified "compromise" on the issue of immunity of U.S. troops from Iraqi prosecution, faces a "hard road" ahead. While the President of the "world's greatest democracy," the United States. says SOFA can be implemented without congressional approval, this is not the case in Iraq, where the cabinet and the parliament have to approve, and there is great popular opposition to the agreement. 10/15/08 Remember whack-a-mole in Iraq? Earlier in that insurgency, coalition forces were faced with the situation in which, as they contained the violence in one place, it broke out in another. Now with the whole country more or less "pacified" (by bribing Sunni Arab support and by "ethnic cleansing" of Baghdad and other cities) much of that insurgency is said to be moving to Afghanistan where military commanders (with approval of Bush administration and both major presidential candidates) are planning for another surge that will "whack the mole" there. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/15/world/asia/15afghanistan.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin 10/15/08 Saudi Arabia-brokered peace talks with Taliban in Afghanistan are said to have set off a "turf war" for influence on the outcome between the United States, Russia and India. http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/JJ15Df01.html 10/12/08 Can the West achieve "victory" in Afghanistan? Charles Pena says that, in the current policy of defining victory as defeating the Taliban, probably it is not possible. Victory is achievable only if the criterion of victory is "that the government in Afghanistan – even if it includes the Taliban – not provide support or safe haven for al-Qaeda." http://www.antiwar.com/pena/?articleid=13580 10/9/08 Security situation in Afghanistan in a "downward spiral." The leaked conclusion of new National Intelligence Estimate to be released (after the elections), according to the New York Times. Growing insurgency and rampant government corruption are the elements that go into this grim conclusion. What to do about it? Remedies range from sending more U.S. troops into the fray (favored by both Obama and McCain) to transferring security responsibility from Afghan Army to tribal elders. Not happy choices. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/09/world/asia/09afghan.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp 10/6/08 “Just another tragicv example of how Al Qaeda in Iraq hides behind innocent Iraqis": A Pentagon spokesman so "apologizes" for a pre-dawn raid on a house in Mosul in search of a "suspected" insurgent, in the course of which 11 people were killed, including several women and children; one surviving infant is being "cared for" by multi-national forces. http://news.antiwar.com/2008/10/05/us-raid-kills-11-members-of-mosul-family/ 10/1/08 According to a Lebanese newspaper, Iraqi Prime Minister Nauri al-Maliki is ready to permit U.S. troops to stay in Iraq beyond the end of this year to help contain the violence that has recently escalated in the country and to grant these troops immunity from Iraqi prosecution so long as they are "performing military duties." With Moqtada al-Sadr whose "moratorium" on resistance has contributed greatly to the decline in violence---and the government of Iran which also has exercised a moderating influence on the resistance---opposing any such "compromises," it may be unlikely that al-Maliki's willingness to make them will ever become the reality. http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=96406# 9/19/08 "Momma, I'm not afraid of the enemy. I'm afraid of our young guys over there, because they're so jumpy and so quick to shoot.": These prophetic words were spoken by a U.S. soldier who was later killing in an apparent "fragging" incident in Tunis, Iraq. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080918/ap_on_re_us/soldiers_slaying_iraq 9/16/08 Sharon Smith: You call this a good war? As both major political parties in the U.S. are describing the Iraqi war as being more or less a "bad" (or at least a mistaken) war, they share the determination to prosecute more vigorously the "good" (or at least the necessary) war in Afghanistan. In so doing they ignore the atrocities against civilians being perpetrated by the U.S. military there (which Fox News "embedded" reporter, Ollie North, no less, denies), and the corrupt bargain by means of which the gang of warlords called the "Northern Alliance" has been installed as the preservers of "democracy" in Afghanistan. http://www.counterpunch.org/sharon09112008.html 9/9/08 "They said everyone who comes here has to confess." A 17 year old Sunni Iraqi boy so describes the situation in the "juvenile justice" system in Iraq. Many other Iraqi children and their families complain of conditions in detention facilities after they are rounded up as suspected terrorists in U.S.-supported raids by Shite militiamen who dominate government police force. While in custody many report having been beaten, raped and tortured by their captors and required to sign blank sheets of paper on which their "confessions" will later be written. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/sep/08/iraq.humanrights 9/9/08 Defense officials are defending Australian soldiers against charges that they have been involved in abusive treatment of detainees in Afghanistan. http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=43829 9/8/08 “The people of Afghanistan have our committment to get to the truth." This "commitment," expressed by a senior U.S. commander in Afghanistan, was a long time in coming. His comment refers to a U.S. air strike on an Afghan village on August 22 in which, for two weeks, the Pentagon was willing to acknowledge that "only" 5 to 7 civilians were killed. "Emerging evidence" is that over 90 were killed, mostly women and children, and even the U.S.-friendly Afghan government is in near-revolt against allowing the Americans carte blanch to carry out its raids against so-called "militant" targets. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/08/world/asia/08afghan.html?th&emc=th 9/6/08 "Democracy-growing" in Iraq grows curioser and curioser. Leaked version of "Status of Forces" agreement governing U.S. presence in Iraq after 2008 is said to omit any deadlines for U.S. troop withdrawal and to provide immunity of those troops from Iraqi prosecution. It also contains an implementing clause which says it will take effect as soon as "diplomatic memos" are exchanged between the Presidents of the two countries. The U.S. is already claiming that the agreement could go into effect without congressional approval; it now appears that a similar exercise in "democracy" would allow a bypass of the elected Parliament, which would be unlikely to approve it. (Unlike the U.S. Congress, which might approve.) http://news.antiwar.com/2008/09/05/leaked-iraq-deal-may-allow-maliki-to-bypass-parliament/ 9/5/08 New Bob Woodward book describes U.S. government "spying" on members of the Iraqi government. 8/29/08 "It's never been done because the issues have been too big to surmount." ." An unnamed U.S. official tells the Washington Post that "it" (the fulfillment of a Bush pledge to negotiate with Afghanistan a "status of forces" agreement concerning U.S. military forces there) has not come to pass, as U.S. operations are governed instead simply by a 2-page "note." The note focuses on trivialities such as drivers licenses' and essentially gives the U.S. full immunity for operations without accountability to the Afghan government. The insurmountable "issues" concern the complexity of forces operating in the country and the perceived corruption and incompetence of the Afghan government. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/27/AR2008082703628_pf.html 8/28/08 Pentagon may be lying about extent of civilian casualties in Afghanistan while Human Rights Watch joins the deception.: The HRW spokesman says such casualties have been "all but eliminated" in the escalating U.S. airstrikes amid persistent rumors of high civilian casualties which the Pentagon says are "false intelligence." This article challenges the claim that such casualties are reduced by the U.S. use of only "pre-planned" strikes against "known" points of Taliban gathering when, in fact the Taliban are a notoriously "moving" target moving freely among a civilian population either supportive of intimidated. http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/08/no-more-civilia.html 8/27/08 Bold Taliban attack says it all about "security" in Afghanistan: In Kandahar, a mortar attack on a government-operated prison allows hundreds of Taliban prisoners to walk away. The episode highlights the general "security" situation in the country, in which rampant distrust of the government has generated escalating resistance from which the not particularly popular Taliban is growing its strength by the day. 8/26/08 Iraq; to timetable or not to timetable, that is the question:. And its the issue that stands in the way of a "status of forces" agreement between Iraq and the U.S. to cover U.S. presence in Iraq after the end of this year. Iraqi PM Maliki insists there must be a hard and fast deadline for all withdrawal (albeit one over three years in the future, which his own Parliament may never accept) while the U.S. still insists that any withdrawal will be contingent on "conditions on the ground" at a time of contemplated withdrawal. http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20080825/wl_mcclatchy/302747 8/24/08 Baghdad is a much cleaner city today: "Ethnically cleanes," that is: As much of the "security" of the city as been handled over to Sunni militiamen on U.S. payroll, ethnic conflict is dampened by the fact that only about 7,000 of the 150,000 who fled their homes between of sectarian conflict have returned to those homes. 8/21/08 Good news and bad news as Petraeus nears end of 18-month tour in Iraq:. Good: Iraqi is "remarkably" less violent than when he took over. Bad: the gains are "fragile" and may not survive his own departure, let alone that of U.S. military presence. (New York Times assessment). http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/21/world/middleeast/21general.html?_r=1&oref=slogin 8/18/08 Gareth Porter: An Associated Press reporter is a mouthpiece for Pentagon propaganda in a false story about Iranian-trained assassination squads operating in Iraq: General Petraus' command tries to revive faltering story of Iran as supporting Iraqi insurgency, and finds AP reporter Pamela Hess a willing tool of their attempted inversion of the role of Iran in the Iraqi conflict, a role which has actually been more a restraining than a supporting one. http://www.antiwar.com/porter/?articleid=13318 8/17/08 Taliban murder of four members of International Rescue Committee rattles aid groups in Afghanistan:. Representatives of IRC and other aid groups say the "worsening security situation" in the country is making their efforts more dangerous and more problematic whether they will continue. http://wiredispatch.com/news/?id=299156 8/16/08 "(Maliki" is successful at fashioing himself an Uraqi hero who kicked the Americans out; that makes him difficult to negotiate with.". Assessment of member of a U.S. national security think-tank who notes that the accommodation with the Iranian government by both Maliki and Moqtada al-Sadr has weakened insurgent resistance at the same time it has stiffened the resistance of the Iraqi government to negotiating the "status of forces" agreement by means of which U.S. government hopes to maintain a long-term presence in Iraq. http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=43577 8/15/08 Opinion: A surge in Afghanistan? Wrong force for "right" war:. Foreign editor of Prospect magazine argues that the original invasion was "right" for its aim of punishing and neutralizing Taliban, but the agenda favored by McCain and especially Obama of escalating forces there is counter to U.S. interests in the area. As more NATO troops have entered the country, the security situation has worsened and will deteriorate even more if additional troops are sent. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/14/opinion/14bull.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&th&emc=th 8/15/08 Afghan capital of Kabul is close to being economically paralyzed by "security" measures that hamper every day business operations. http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/JH16Df01.html 8/13/08 Obama's "plan" to end the Iraq occupation: Is it a "non-plan?" Anthony DiMaggio so believes, as he dissects the rhetoric of Obama's campaign statements and finds them a masterwork of "ambiguity" with no real prospect of this particular "change we can believe in." http://counterpunch.com/dimaggio08122008.html 8/7/08 That GAO-reported Iraqi oil revenue surplus that isn't being spent on the country's construction?: Members of Congress may rant about the "absurd" situation and Baghdad residents may be confounded by the fact that their electricity supply is still so low, but U.S. officials "explain" that the expenditure of these funds is simply being "delayed" while U.S. and Iraqi officials figure out how to distribute them without the "corruption" that has dogged previous Iraqi government expenditures. http://wiredispatch.com/news/?id=284309 8/7/08 Afghanistan moving back to spotlight of public attention: With a "milestone" of the 500th U.S. death in Afganistan having been reached, a relative of one of the deceased guesses it may be a "good thing" that people are beginning to focus on the conflict in that "ignored" theatre of operations, as a human face starts to emerge from the occupation of that country. (Meantime, the presidential candidates of both major parties see the conflict as a "war" which must be "won.") 8/5/08 “Anytime the Taliban fired a shot from our houses, then the coalition, the government and the police came to the area and hit us." Such accounts proliferate among refugees from southern Afghanistan who have crowded into camps near Kabul. The Red Cross indicates that these 10,000-15,000 refugees are but the "tip of the iceberg" of untold numbers of Afghan trapped in impossible security situations in the south. http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/08/03/10774/ 8/2/08 Relief agency in Afghanistan says it's hard to do their work as insurgent attacks escalate in the country.: Noting a 50% rise in such attacks over the last year, Agency Co-ordinating Body for Afghan Relief says it is difficult to provide for security for their operations as these are frequently the targets of attack. http://www.thenational.ae/article/20080801/FOREIGN/989158229/1002/NEWS 8/6/08 GAO report: Iraqi government stuffs its pockets with oil proce-inflated profits while U.S. still pays most of the country's re-construction costs: The report notes decline in reconstruction expenditures and doubling of oil revenues in a year, suggesting (without demanding) that Iraq is "capable" of paying for more of its own costs. http://www.kansascity.com/451/story/735443.html 8/6/08 Success of anti-insurgent operation in Diyala province in Iraq is enhanced by cooperation of Sahwi militia (Awakening), which the Iraqi government once fought but is now offering jobs in the national police, to supplement U.S. bribes in the form of monthly income. http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=43451 7/29/08 “Every attack aircraft in the operation area will have full motion video." U.S. Air Force commanders wax rhapsodic over the "future" of their mission in Iraq, a mission expected to become increasingly important as U.S. ground combat forces are reduced to a mission of training Iraqi ones. The surveillance will continue and is already being enhanced by installation of video equipment on fighter planes. The mission of the Air Force in providing called-in air strikes in support of ground combat operations will continue. Concern for collateral damage (civilian casualties) from such strikes will be obviated by keeping control of the call ins in the hands of the ground combat "trainers" and not Iraqis who might use this power as a "sectarian weapon" (As if such damages never occurred while the call-ins have been in U.S. control) . Air power, along with the power of the ground combat "trainers," seems to have an assured lengthy future. 7/29/08 U.S. and Iraqi forces begin major military offensive against insurgents in Diyala province. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080729/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq 7/27/08 Associated Press declares (near) U.S. victory in Iraq; Ccan't the troops come home now? Not really, say two AP reporters, it's just that, with insurgent operations now only "sporadic," the "war" (actually occupation) can enter on a "new phase" which "focuses on training the Iraqi army and police, restraining the flow of illicit weaponry from Iran, supporting closer links between Baghdad and local governments, pushing the integration of former insurgents into legitimate government jobs and assisting in rebuilding the economy." (That mission should keep U.S. forces in Iraq for the duration of McCain's "100 years" or Obama's ever "refined" 16 months.) 7/27/08 Smart money: It works in Iraq, how about using ti to solve our other problems? In a semi-satirical article, E.R. Bills notes that the successful "surge" in Iraq is actually a "splurge" in use of U.S. tax dollars to pay former insurgents NOT to fight against us, to the tune of about $700,000 per day. Similarly, Bills notes, instead of an expensive "war on drugs," we could pay drug dealers not to deal (remember paying farmers not to farm?) and instead of expensive "border enforcement" at the U.S./Mexico border we could pay Mexicans not to immigrate. (Hmm). http://www.dissidentvoice.org/2008/07/the-splurge-of-course-its-working/ 7/27/08 Taliban said to be winning the "propaganda war" in Afghanistan as allegations of U.S. raids killing civilians prompts public revulsion against both the U.S. and the Afghan government, although most people are not actually pro-Taliban. http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/JG26Df03.html 7/26/08 Peace in Iraq: It's largely bought and paid for by U.S. funding of ex-insurgents. For $300 per month payments to Sunni Arab members of the Awakening, former members of Saddam Hussein's army and former al-Qaeda members who fought the U.S., have agreed to fight those resisting U.S. occupation of Iraq. The program may be about to get a lot more expensive for the U.S. taxpayer, as Awakening leaders are demanding more funding for their people, else they will go back over to the insurgency. h ttp://www.military.com/news/article/exinsurgents-want-more-money-or-else.html?col=1186032310810 7/26/08 Sonali Kolhatkar: Afghanistan isn't the good war, it's the forgotten war: . The Pacifica Radio broadcaster says it is not good because it has been as destructive of human life as the occupation of Iraq, considering the (relatively) small scale of operations there. It is forgotten because U.S. media has failed to report the reality of the conflict there, and has manipulated the tendency of U.S. public opinion to support intervention if it can be justified in "humanitarian" terms, as operations to save the "brown people over there." http://www.democracynow.org/2008/7/24/the_forgotten_war_sonali_kolhatkar_on 7/23/08 As U.S. presidential candidates stump for greater U.S. involvement in Afghanistan, Canada prepars to "decalre victory and go home.", Last year, the Harper government announced ambitious goals of reduction of Taliban influence and of opium production in the country. With both the Taliban and the poppies flourishing as never before, secret government documents indicate that, preparatory to removing its troops in 2011, "lowered expectations" are being articulated so the country can justify its withdrawal by its "success" by their new standards. (Will U.S. follow suit?) http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080722.AFGHAN22/TPStory/Nationalhttp://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080722.AFGHAN22/TPStory/National 7/23/08 What's all the silly fuss about "collateral damage" in Afghanistan? U.S. commanders complain that stringent "rules of engagement" that inhibit them from engaging in military operations with risk of civilian casualties are seriously hampering their ability to carry out anti-insurgency missions. These rules were tightened after a spate of civilian casualties had raised new concerns about effects of military operations on Afghan "hearts and minds." http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/23/world/asia/23military.html?th&emc=th 7/22/08 Associated Press article suggests that Iraqi PM al-Maliki's near-endorsement of Barack Obama for the U.S. presidency indicates the Iraqi leadership's intention to get the "best deal possible" from the next administration, as Maliki describes Obama's 16-month withdrawal plan (a plan he's still "refining") as "about right," even though it misses by over a year the Iraqi demand for withdrawal of U.S. forces by the end of 2008. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/07/20/politics/p081138D17.DTL 7/22/08 Pakistan tries and fails in a maneuver designed to create division and weakening of al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afganistan. http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/JG23Df01.html 7/21/08 Whether "zooming in" on Wanat (9 U.S. soldier deaths) or out on Afghanistan more widely, Taliban control of Afghanistan is rapidly growing. http://www.alternet.org/audits/92157/ 7/20/08 Obama's 16-month withdrawal timetable for Iraq? PM Maliki endorses it as "about right" while Obama himself continues to "refine" same as he begins to consult with "commanders on the ground" about the matter. http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2008/07/19/6206886-ap.html 7/20/08 "This is a war we have to win " Barack Obama, in Afghanistan, puts down his marker on the conflict there as "his" war. as he has breakfast with the troops, visits with President Karzai and pledges continued U.S. support for the security and reconstruction of a country whose security is largely maintained by the Taliban and whose recovery from the coalition invasion has barely begun. http://wiredispatch.com/news/?id=259494 7/20/08 Toronto Sun writer says that Obama was "fallen victim to propaganda" in his embrace of Afghanistan as "good" war, based on false premises about the nature of the threat of terrorism. http://www.torontosun.com/News/Columnists/Margolis_Eric/2008/07/20/6209056-sun.php 7/18/08 Howard Zinn to McCain and Obama: There will be no "winner" in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan: The famed "people's historian" asserts that these current "wars" are no different than innumerable other U.S. military engagements, and that the rhetoric of "victory" that McCain proposes for Iraq and Obama for Afghanistan is inappropriate to these situations. The comments on this article stray (as these comments often stray) into discussions of the U.S. presidential election, including comments by the editor of SSA, that touch on the ambivalent relationship between Zinn specifically and U.S. "leftists" more generally with the Obama campaign http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/07/17/10427/ 7/17/08 Robert Gates speaks from both sides of his mouth over Afghanistan: With Admiral Mullen sitting on his left side, the Secretary of Defense says that the "improved" situation in Iraq may allow for some diversion of troops toward a more difficult one in Afghanistan. With Secretary of State Rice on his right side, he does a Dwight Eisenhower bit and warns against "creeping militarization" in U.S. foreign policy that gets U.S. involved in other countries' conflicts, using the "failed" situation in Afghanistan as an example of questionable U.S. involvement. In agreement with the Global Leadership conference to which he is speaking, he advocates more "soft power" approaches to American foreign policy. (With rumors that he may continue at the Pentagon under a President Obama, is Gates positioning himself to do that?) http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/07/16/pentagon.troops/ CREEPING MILITARIZATION: http://wiredispatch.com/news/?id=253931 7/12/08 As the U.S. continues to deny that a missile struck any civilians but only militants, an Afghan inquiry concludes that a missile did strike a wedding party, and the U.S. says that the missile that it didn't fire was an errant missile intended to kill only militants. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jul/11/afghanistan.usa?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfront 7/10/08 As Obama equivocates on setting a timetable for troop withdrawal from IraqI, the Iraqi government "toughens its stance" on such deadline being a condition for status of forces agreement:. An Iraqi diplomat echoes and states more forceably the position of PM al-Maliki to that effect. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-07/10/content_8519813.htm 7/9/08 At a conference in Baghdad, a UN representative says that a sixth of the Iraqi population has been displaced from their homes, either during the Saddam Hussein regime or after the U.S. invasion. The Iraq government's Minister of Immigration and Emigration tells Voices of Iraq news agency that the government has a policy in place to deal with the issue, but gives few specifics and no information about when that policy was "obtained." 7/8/08 President Bush always said the U.S. would leave Iraq when the Iraqis ask the U.S. to leave: Well, not quite so, as it turns out. As Iraqi PM issues a demand for a timetable of U.S. withdrawal of occupation forces, the Pentagon says that withdrawal will be determined by "conditions on the ground," the nature of those "conditions" of course to be determined by the U.S. http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Iraq_raises_prospect_of_US_withdrawal_0707.html 7/8/08 United Arab Emirates pledges to "provide all kinds of financial and moral aid" to Iraq. They begin by cancelling $7 billion in debts to the UAE, and restore staffing of their Baghdad embassy, abandoned in 2006 after the killing of one of their diplomats. http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2008/07/200876152054148993.html 7/8/08 Basra, Iraq: From British black ops during their occupation to 2008's battle of Basra: . Andrew Marshall reviews the complex history of occupation of this key port city, focussing first on the period of British occupation in which it appeared that special forces agents were intent on creating disturbances in the population by provocative "incidents." After their withdrawal, Basra became designated as a key area for suppression of Mahdi Army militancy, and the ill-fated "Battle of Basra" ensued, in which PM Maliki vowed a final push against the Army, with U.S. and British help. Marshall suggests that a key explanation of this "battle" was Dick Cheney's effort to promote military action against Iran by claiming that Iran was furnishing military assistance to Iraqi insurgents. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20243.htm 7/7/08 Defense of marriage; U.S. military-style. In Nangahar, a remote province in eastern Afghanistan, reports from local sources say 22 people, 19 of them women and children, were killed in an air attack as they were going in a group to a groom's house during a wedding. U.S. denies that any victims were civilians, saying they had been identified as enemy militants. President Karzai promises investigation. The incident recalls one of six years ago in which another "accident" occurred as the celebratory fireworks associated with a wedding were mistaken as enemy fire. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7492195.stm 7/5/08 Shiite clergy in Iraq, unhappy with reported terms of status of forces agreement to keep U.S. occupation forces in the country after the end of 2008, are demanding the publication of the terms and a public referendum on its approval. 7/4/08 Barack Obama says he will "refine" his campaign pledge of withdrawal from Iraq within 16 months. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/04/us/politics/04policy.html?th&emc=th 7/3/08 Iraqi negotiator: U.S. shows "excellent flexibility" on terms of status of forces agreement. Translation: U.S now seems willing to give up demand for criminal immunity from Iraqi laws of private security contractors. While this concession is said to narrow somewhat the differences between the two sides, a vast area of seemingly irreconcilable differences about post-occupation Iraqi sovereignty remain for a negotiation which, it was hoped, would be completed by the end of this month. http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/42961.html 7/3/08 Thousands of pages of documents released on Navy's investigations of civilian deaths in Iraq:. In a press release, ACLU says these documents demonstrate a concerted program in U.S. government to conceal from the public the extent of that "collateral damage," http://www.aclu.org/natsec/foia/35878prs20080702.html 7/2/08 Taliban insurgency is surging in Afghanistan:. U.S. military deaths reach highest level since the war began in 2001, as a larger and more determined insurgency contests for control of the countryside. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/01/AR2008070103070_pf.html 7/2/08 Sources say U.S. is now using spy satellites to monitor the behavior of Iraqi security forces, reflecting a high level of mistrust. http://www.boston.com/news/world/articles/2008/07/02/us_spy_satellites_said_to_watch_iraqi_army/ 7/1/08 Think U.S. veterans are victims of neglect? It is much worse for Iraqis wounded while members of the security force. While Iraqi government claims they are well cared for, veterans interviewed by New York Times reporters dispute this, saying they receive little or no compensation and have little access to the failing health care system; as the reporters say, their treatment ranges from "indifference to vindictiveness." http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/01/world/middleeast/01vets.html?th&emc=th 6/28/08 Democrats in Congress complete spectacular dive on Iraq war funding. By 92-6 vote (with all Democrats voting in favor) Senate joins House in voting for additional funding, as the bill had attached to it some Democratic amendments on veterans benefits and domestic spending. (So much for "the power of the purse.") http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/26/AR2008062604076_pf.html 6/24/08 Anti-U.S. feelings in Iraq take a bizarre turn:. In Madain, south of Baghdad, a local Iraqi leader, following a routine "reconstruction" meeting of town and U.S. officials, inexplicably opens fire on U.S. soldiers, killing two and resulting in himself being killed in the returned fire. A member of the Awakening Council of local Sunnis whose cooperation with coalition forces was critical to "pacifying" this area, his action defies the ability of his associates to explain, but it does elicit some treatment of him as a local hero. http://www.mcclatchydc.com/iraq/story/41895.html 6/22/08 Progress in Afghanistan? Measured by the freedoms of women, journalists and most Afghans, No! Measured when Afghanistan is thought of as Operation Pipeline; things are looking up: Founder of the General Smedley ("War is a racket") Butler Society notes that, across a wide range of freedoms, Afghanistan under NATO and the installed Karzai government, is hardly the beneficiary of an "operation enduring freedom." In one respect, though, the conflict is accomplishing its aims as a consortium of world powers, including corporate interests in the U.S., have fashioned an accommodation of international relations that will make a "cash cow" of natural gas mined in Asia and pumped across Afghanistan. http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig9/bacon6.html 6/18/08 U.S. military judge dismisses, on procedural irregularity, the case against the highest ranking of 8 Marines accused in the alleged "revenge" killing of 24 Iraqi civilians at Haditha in 2005. With 6 others already exonerated or having had their cases dismissed, charges remain only against the "ringleader," but even these are of uncertain future. http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080617/us_nm/usa_iraq_haditha_dc 6/18/08 Canada in Afghanistan; Is this what it takes to "work with" the Afghan government?: A Canadian chaplain, who counsels combat returnees, is one of several sources of allegation that Canadian troops were directed to "ignore" those incidents in which they saw Afghan boys being sexually assaulted by Afghan troops. The chaplain's own report on the matter gets ignored up the "chain of command" and only an investigative expose by Toronto Star seems to be generating any movement toward Canadian military action on the matter. http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/443954 6/16/08 On status of forces agreement, U.S. says to Iraq: "Hury up!"... Iraqis say "We'll take our time.": U.S. wants the agreement in place by July 31, ahead of the Democratic and Republican conventions. The Iraqis say we have our own political business (an election) to tend to, and it may take months to work out the terms of the agreement. 6/15/08 Independent agencies say the death toll in Iraqi conflict is far greater than is being officially admitted. http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42618 6/15/08 Tough week for the U.K. in Afghanistan:. As five British paratroopers are killed in Afghanistan, mothers of dead soldiers complain that the government has "disappeared" the deaths of 30 who have been killed there without their deaths being so recorded. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/jun/15/military.iraq 6/14/08 Will Obama stop the Iraq war? Not likely, says Anthony Arnove. Obama's statements about expectations of increasing ground forces in the country and shifting military forces toward Afghanistan indicate that his only differences with the Bush administration are on "strategy" and not on the "principle" on which the war is based: actually a fulfillment of the (Jimmy) Carter doctrine of use of military force against any adversary who challenges our dominance in the Middle East. Anti-war supporters who hope that he will move toward withdrawal once he assumes the reins of the presidency should pin less faith in such "hope" that flies in the face of other Democratic exercises in militarism and concentrate on their own movement efforts to exercise pressure on whoever is the incumbent of the White House. http://www.zcommunications.org/znet/viewArticle/17862 6/14/08 Moqtada al Sadr announces formation of a new Mahdi Army force whose sole mandate is to resist U.S. presence in Iraq and with violence against other Iraqis strictly forbidden. He vows that "We will keep resisting the occupier until the liberation (of Iraq) or (our) martrydom." Is al Sadr Iraqi's Patrick Henry? http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080613/wl_mideast_afp/iraqunrestussadr_080613112652 6/12/08 "Now the American position is much more positive and flexible." An Iraqi negotiator's description of the change in U.S. envoy David Satterfield's efforts on behalf of a beleaguered "status of forces" agreement which would leave U.S. forces in Iraq operating autonomously after the end of this year. The UK Independent story that quotes this negotiator notes the intensity of Iraqi opposition to terms being pushed by the U.S. and the new determination of George Bush to achieve a "legacy" victory before the end of his term, but does not specify just what changes in negotiation position are making it more "positive and flexible." 6/11/08 Some Iraqi leaders are beginning to assert they would rather forego U.S. "protection" presence in their country than to accede to U.S. demand for extended base siting that they see as a form of colonization. 6/10/08 Proposed status of forces agreement between U.S. and Iraq would make Iraq "not just...an occupied country, but as if it were a part of the United States.": Comment of an Iraqi parliamentarian speaking to hearing in U.S. Congress as opposition mounts to an agreement that would keep U.S. forces in Iraq after this year. Meanwhile, senior members of Senate Foreign Relations Committee complain of lack of "transparency" in the process by which the agreement is being negotiated. http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0610/p03s01-usfp.html?page=1 6/9/08 "Whenever we ask them they will be ready to support and help." This is an Iraqi government spokesman's definition of the expected "status" of U.S. "forces" in the "status of forces" agreement on how the U.S. will remain in Iraq after the end of this year. This is a far cry from the U.S. expectation of a "green light" status of being able to conduct military operations without being "asked" by the Iraqis. Still, President Bush has had numerous talks with PM Maliki in which he assures the latter than the U.S. will "negotiate" any aspects of the agreement with which Iraq disagrees. (Threats to deprive Iraq of access to its "foreign reserves" located in the U.S. may be a part of this "negotiation.") http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article4092919.ece 6/7/08 Sticking point: U.S. and Iraq can't agree on the "status" of U.S. military forces in the "staus of forces" agreement now being negotiated to provide U.S. military presence after 12/31/08: U.S. is insisting on a maintenance of the current "green light" status that allows its forces to undertake military operations without Iraqi approval; Iraqis want "consultation" with themselves on any such action. Given the "dependence" of Iraq on the U.S. for its "security," the Iraqis may have very little chance to prevail in this disagreement. http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSL06935676 6/6/08 Sign on the dotted line...Or lose $50 billion of funds in NYC Reserve Bank. According to information leaked to UK Independent, this is the threat that U.S. negotiators are using to try to conclude by the end of July the "status of forces" agreement that allows indefinite retention of U.S. forces in Iraq. With Bush determined to conclude this agreement as part of his "legacy" that will tie the hands of the next President and with strong feeling in Iraq against the agreement, the U.S. is using the spectre of an end of the year UN mandate for U.S. presence to pressure Iraqi government agreement. 6/5/08 Will U.S. election be decided in a back room in Baghdad?: This is the suggestion of a UK Independent columnist, who reports on leaks of secret negotiations between U.S. and Iraqi governments that would seal an indefinite U.S. military presence in Iraq, bolstering the presidential chances of John McCain as the heir of a touted "success" in Iraq and blunting the appeal of Barack Obama for withdrawal of U.S. forces. 6/3/08 If Barack Obama takes up John McCain's challenge to go to Iraq and "see for himself" the progress of the occupation, what is he likely to see?: A correspondent for The National (English language newspaper in Abu Dhabi started in April 08) says he will see what congressional tourists always see: exactly what the U.S. military wants him to see. For example, he will go by helicopter from the airport to the Green Zone because the 20-minute drive for that trip is now considered too dangerous for travel. http://www.thenational.ae/article/20080601/FOREIGN/767311276/1002/NEWS 5/29/08 In the town of Baquba as throughout the country, Iraqis dream of what would be considered "trivialities" in other countries. People dream of being able to take a shower or have enough electricity to run fans so they can sleep on hot nights. Children dream of having playgrounds where they can securely play without fear of injury or death from everyday political violence. Most of all they dream of a day in which the occupation will not dominate their daily lives. http://www.dissidentvoice.org/2008/05/iraq-through-occupation-the-very-dreams-change/ 5/26/08 Conflict in Mosul, Iraq drags on, disguised, says Pepe Escobar, as an operation against al-Qaeda when it is actually an anti-Sunni pogrom orchestrated by government-embedded militias. http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/JE24Ak01.html 5/25/08 "We do not want to offend the very people our primary mission is to protect" : A U.S. military spokesman's comment on a raid during Friday prayers at an "office" of Muqtada al Sadr in Baghdad at which 200 people were arrested as suspected insurgents. The officer is commenting on the fact that the raid was not conducted in a mosque, which the U.S. would never do. One of the arrestees tells McClatchy reporter that, to the contrary, the supplicants were VERY offended at the door-kicking invasion of their American "protectors." http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20080524/wl_mcclatchy/2948751 5/23/08 U.S. Senate buys the Iraq/Afghanistan occupations (again):. On 70-26 vote, Senate concurs with House version of a bill to extend funding for another year, after a 75-22 vote to add on an amendment guaranteeing enhanced benefits for veterans. By a 34-63 vote, they fail to put limits on the President's ability to prosecute the war. Senator Obama ducks the 70-26 vote (probably had to leave for Florida to "court" Jewish voters), votes for add-ons and against limitations. Clinton votes for final approval and for add-ons, against limitations. McCain does not vote on any measures, as he's campaigning in Florida. http://wiredispatch.com/news/?id=180985 VOTE: Final passage 5/22/08 U.S. military continues to claim---and fail to produce any evidence for the claims---that the Iraqi insurgency is being fed with Iranian arms and military training. http://www.antiwar.com/porter/?articleid=12883 5/17/08 Getting out of a country; U.S.-style:. Contrary to its supposed policy of closing detention facilities in Afghanistan in the near future, U.S. announces plan for a massive expansion of permanent facilities at its Bagram Air Base. The New York Times calls this "a stark acknowledgment that the United States is likely to continue to hold prisoners overseas for years to come." http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/17/world/asia/17detain.html 5/15/08 Wall in Sadr City, designed as peace-making device, is the focus of much violence:. As U.S. begins to build 3-mile concrete barrier to contain insurgency violence, the wall itself is hotly contested, as insurgents repeatedly blast holes in it. An American commander, in military-speak, describes the resulting U.S. action: “We ended up having to use some larger ordnance out of our Air Force to reduce some of the buildings around here.” (Larger ordnance equals missile strikes from Hellfire helicopters.) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/15/world/middleeast/15wall.html?th&emc=th 5/13/08 U.S. plans to be more "pro-active" in southern Iraq as they react to what an official calls a "self-delusional" British practice: The alleged "delusion" of the British was that they persuaded themselves that the Iraqis were able to take over their own security before they in fact had this capability and which they still do not have. More U.S. troops will move into Basra and other southern points to try to replicate the "pacification" (also known as bribery) that the U.S. has supposedly achieved in Fallujah and other western areas. 5/12/08 Mosul: "City of the dead": Patrick Cockburn's characterization of the northern Iraqi city as it prepares for yet another "surge" of military action by Iraqi and U.S. governments. While technically 1.4 million people "live" here, there is round-the-clock curfew, nearly all shops have been shuttered and men, women and children continue to be killed by "security" forces at the slightest suspicion of aggressive intention. Cockburn thus describes the "progress" in a city that has grown progressively more dangerous and repressed over the course of his several visits to the city. 5/11/08 First call a truce and them bomb them some more:. An Arab website publishes story from reporters for Voices of Iraq claiming that heavy U.S. aerial strikes continued in sections of Sadr City after Iraqi government and Mahdi Army had arrived at a truce agreement. 5/10/08 Iranian weapons being used in Iraqi insurgency? This is a persistent claim of U.S. officials and there was a plan to demonstrate the claim by a show-and-tell display of captured weaponry: an event cancelled when it was learned that there had been erroneous "intelligence" of an Iranian origin. http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/05/09/8826/ 5/9/08 Sadr City starting to look like Fallujah deja vu: As UN relief agency reports mass civilian suffering in part of Sadr City adjacent to Green Zone, the agency reports the area is "too dangerous" from U.S./Iraqi assaults and insurgent counter-measures for aid to be delivered. Loudspeakers warn people to leave their homes and go to an area soccer stadium ahead of impending assault. A commenter on Common Dreams reprint (comment #3), posts a picture of a 2-year-old child who died after being pulled from the rubble of a mortar assault, and this unleashes a torrent of unmitigated outrage on the comments thread. Another Guernica horror may lie jus ahead. http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/05/08/8796/ 5/8/08 Cry goes up in Congress: "Let the Iraqis pay more for their own reconstruction": As Congress prepares to pass a new supplementary funding bill to continue the Iraqi occupation, pressure is growing for putting in the bill "conditions," including the demand that more reconstruction costs come from the bonanza of revenue derived by Iraq from the escalating price of oil on the world market. (Maybe we broke it---and are continuing to break it---but they gotta fix it.") http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42281 5/4/08 A "called in" airstrike which the U.S. military said hit "known criminal elements" from a nearby house went astray and destroyed many of the facilities of one of the three hospitals in Sadr City, in the process wounding at least 20 of these "known criminals." http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/05/03/8695/ COMMENT ON THIS BY SSA EDITOR: http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/05/03/8695/#comment-268124 5/4/08 "What cannot be defeated will be imprisoned " Baghdad under U.S. occupation is becoming more and more like Gaza under Israeli control. A wall has been built around the southern end of Sadr City, daily attacks on "insurgents" have produced upwards of 1000 deaths of civilians just during the last month and the area is under siege for starvation into yielding http://www.counterpunch.org/amiri05022008.html 5/2/08 April was a thousand-plus month for deaths in the Iraqi occuaption: Iraqi Health Ministry reports 1073 Iraqi deaths, mostly civilians, while the Pentagon acknowledges deaths of 49 GIs, both figures the highest toll in many months. The Bahrain news agency which reported these numbers editorializes that Iraq and the U.S. continue to "pay a price" for Bush's "Mission Accomplished" statement in 2003. http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=216147&Sn=WORL&IssueID=31042 5/1/08 Al Maliki strikes back. In the war with words with Moqtada al-Sadr in which Sadr has threatened "open war" against the government, the PM says the Mehdi Army faces a military assault unless it disarms, stops interfering with state affairs (policing and courts), and turns over wanted fugitives. With Basra relatively pacified for the moment, the main resistance is centered in Baghdad's Sadr City. http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSL305633420080430 4/29/08 Afghanistan's insurgency surges northward:. Attack on President Hamid Karzai in Kubal highlights an increasing tendency for violence, previously confined mostly to southern regions, to occur in the capital and other more northern regions. http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0429/p07s02-wosc.html 4/24/08 Report says that, for the most part, Danish humanitarian aid to Iraq has been effectively administered. http://www.cphpost.dk/get/106826.html 4/23/08 Forget the "hearts and minds" stuff!! U.S. is increasingly adopting an "Israelized" approach to its occupatio of Iraq. As coffee klatches between Marine officers and Sunni tribal elders are the PR face of the occupation, the reality is that U.S. operations adopt the Israeli tactics for Palestine: control the alienated population by concrete walls and checkpoints on the ground, a devastating air war from the skies http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/5162 4/22/08 Condoleeza Rice calls out Moqtada Al-Sadr as a coward: . Sitting with Iraqi PM al-Maliki in the well-fortified Baghdad Green Zone, she ridicules the insurgent cleric for issuing warnings of "open war" by his militia in Iraq from a safe haven for himself in Iran and calls for the martyrdom of his followers while protecting his own life. http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080421/FOREIGN/139603223/1003 4/21/08 "Bring it On!" U.S. military's response to Al-Sadr's threat to wage "open war": As mosques in Sadr City blast out appeals for intensified resistance, U.S. General Lynch warns al-Sadr against such threats and says "we've got enough combat power to take the fight to the enemy," http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080420/ts_afp/iraqunrestsadr 4/20/08 Moqtada al-Sadr issues warning of "open war until liberation" unless U.S./Iraqi crack-down on his militia ceases. http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/AE426FB4-EF57-4CD9-B4A4-9238AEE27116.htm 4/19/08 Life of a GI in Sadr City: Alternate periods of boredom and terror and not knowing just who is your enemy: Leila Fadel for McClatchy Newspapers provides an up close and personal account of what it is like for one platoon to be isolated in a house abandoned by residents during the current U.S. siege of southern Sadr, especially their sense of being caught in the crossfire of a battle between the Iraqi and Mahdi armies; a model of the kind of reporting that can come from an "embedded" reporter. http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/34185.html 4/19/08 What is the "security wall" being constructed in Sadr city protecting? Perhaps it's protecting the just-completed U.S. embassy complex, constructed by a Kuwati firm with U.S. sub-contractors. The construction was finished in the face of continuous "Green Zone" assaults from insurgents, a factor in the decision to construct the wall so that "re-building" could be done once "security" had been obtained. (Withdrawal of U.S. military forces would leave this massive complex as a focus of Iraqi resentment and an indefinite "security" force would probably have to be maintained to protect the facility...and of course "the wall" would have to stay in place. http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2008/ss_iraq0068_04_18.asp 4/18/08 “You can't really reapir anything that's broken until you establisj security." This sounds like a lament for the whole occupation of Iraq, but is actually that of an American military officer's statement regarding the building of a wall surrounding a southern quarter of Sadr City, stronghold of the Mahdi Army from which frequent attacks have been launched into Baghdad's Green Zone. The effort to build the wall, which began Tuesday night, is disrupted by frequent efforts by insurgents to prevent the construction. Basra's "defining moment" seems to be Sadr City's "moment," with perhaps the same dismal result for occupation forces. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/18/world/middleeast/18sadrcity.html 4/17/08 Democratic candidates said at last night's debate that, as president, they would begin immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq...but why wait? This was a question not asked by their questioners, even though Congress has a chance in the next few weeks to accelerate withdrawal before the next President takes office, as a "supplemental" war funding bill again comes up for vote. As it does, the White House waves the flag of "job protection" by saying that "lay-offs" in military personnel would occur if such funding were not approved by Memorial Day. http://wiredispatch.com/news/?id=130727 4/13/08 U.S. forces suffer their "bloodiest week" of '08, as 19 soldiers die:. Surge of operations against Mahdi Army produces a surge of Mahdi resistance as well. Moqtada al-Sadr, believed to be in Iran, demands withdrawal of U.S. forces and urges his followers to intensified efforts against those forces and charges U.S. as behind the assassination of one of his deputies. http://wiredispatch.com/news/?id=125566 4/11/08 Rules of engagement: "Lieutenant, can I shoot that guy who just released a flock of pigeons?" A question that might occur in Sadr City, Baghdad, which is described in a New York Times article as a "proving ground" for training of the Iraqi military by the U.S. Army. The article demonstrates the complex and faltering process by means of which Iraqi forces will finally "stand up" so that U.S. ones can "stand down." (The pigeon question relates to the tendency of insurgents to release birds to signal the presence of government and coalition forces.) http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/11/world/middleeast/11sadrcity.html?th&emc=th 4/10/08 The Petraues/Crocker dog and pnoy show fizzles on Iran involvement in Iraqi insurgency: As expected, Petraeus tells Congress that Iranian support is fueling the insurgency, but he falls short of a feared call for direct action against Iran. The "pony" of the show, Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker, may have contributed to this glitch in the show by admitting that Iranian involvement includes connections with all major contenders in Iraq, not just the Mahdi Army which is the current thorn in the side of the anti-insurgency. (The fact that a British newspaper had "called out" the Petraeus game of trying to force action against Iran on the basis of its Iraqi meddling may have been another factor.) http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aXD9fCxRQ2.c&refer=home 4/4/08 Some members of Congress have a lot invested in the upcoming issue of re-funding Iraq/Afghanistan war operations: Their personal money that is. Center of Responsive Politics issues new report showing investments of individual members in defense-related industries. 7 of the top 10 investors are Republicans, but John Kerry heads the list, which also includes Jane Harman and Jay Rockefeller, Democratic foreign policy powerhouses. http://www.capitaleye.org/inside.asp?ID342 4/4/08 Has MLK been resurrected in Iraq? Moqtada al-Sadr calls for a million-strong march on Basra to protest continued U.S. occupation of the country. This follows a period of relative calm in which al-Sadr's cease-fire call is largely observed and much of the "violence" in the country results from operations like the U.S. helicopter assault that kills several civilians and "one enemy." 3/25/08 As U.S. marks 4000th military death in Iraq, George W. Bush gives his "Gettysburg Address" speech: Reflecting advice coming from General Petraeus and other military leaders that no drawdown in troop levels is advisable for the rest of his administration, he "assures" survivors of fallen soldiers that America will stay the course to "justify" their loved ones' sacrifices. Only thing is, he forgot the last line of the address, that the struggle would result in a rebirth of government of, by and for the people. (left out Halliburton). http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/25/washington/25policy.html?th&emc=th 3/25/08 Good news: Britain will pull out last 4000 troops remaining in Basra, Iraq. Bad news: An equal number will be going back in: Plans for a full withdrawal of a force now confined to the Basra Airport are postponed indefinitely, as rocket attacks on the base increase and as Iraqi government forces in the city itself are in a difficult battle with Shi-ite militias for control. Iraqi commander plans a "final offensive" against the militias and is expecting some British help, but he says what help they give will be "up to them." 3/24/08 Easter Day becomes "bloody Sunday" as U.S. and suicide bomber assaults escalate; nearly 100 Iraqis are killed on a day in which U.S. soldier deaths reached the milestone mark of 4000 for the duration of the conflict. Aren't they listening to the Pope's Easter message? http://www.antiwar.com/updates/?articleid=12569 3/16/08 Iraqi war veterans at "Winter Soldier" meeting in Silver Spring MD say international law rules of engagement were more or less "thrown out the window" as civilians became fair game for being shot on the merest suspicion and that soldiers who shot them often planted weapons or shovels on them that would falsely indicate that they were armed and dangerous. |