Today in Iraq

War News for October 19, 2003 Bring ‘em on: Two US soldiers killed, one wounded in RPG attack near Tikrit. Bring ‘em on: US convoy ambushed near Kirkuk. Two US soldiers reported killed. There appears to be some confusion about whether these two reported.attacks were actually the same attack. CENTCOM has verified the Tikrit casualties as soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division, while the 4th Infantry spokeswoman cited in the press reports verified the Kirkuk attack. Kirkuk and Tikrit are almost 100 miles apart. Bring ‘em on: US convoy attacked near Fallujah; witnesses report US casualties. “The bomb was placed beside a concrete plinth bearing the words, ‘Welcome to Fallujah,’ at the eastern entrance to the city.” Bring ‘em on: Two Iraqis killed, 15 wounded by bomb near Baghdad. Bring ‘em on: “Resistance forces have mounted an average of 22 attacks a day on the U.S. occupation forces in Iraq in recent weeks, mostly in the so-called ''Sunni Triangle,'' a Sunni Muslim-dominated area stretching from the west of Baghdad to the north.” Bring ‘em on: US troops under mortar fire near Samarra. Bring ‘em on: US troops attacked with small arms fire and grenades near Hawija; US troops in Firefight near Beiji. US troops surround the house of Sayyid Mahmoud al-Hassani, a "sympathizer of radical Shi'ite leader Moqtada al-Sadr who opposes the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq" in Karbala. Iraqis warn crackdown will backfire. Hey, Ramadan begins on Saturday. Let’s get everybody really pissed off now. US troops conduct raids in Khaldiyah. Turkey may abandon plans to send troops to Iraq. Hey, I’m reporting some good news for a change. Bush touts new textbooks in Iraqi schools as a sign of progress. House Republicans cut funding for Basra children’s hospital. Bush launches full propaganda war against American people. “It started out as a little crowd control in Baghdad. But as U.S. troops entered the streets to restore order earlier this month, the protest turned ugly. Someone threw a homemade grenade at the Americans, wounding 13 servicemen. According to the Oct. 8 Daily Threat Assessment—the Coalition’s internal casualty report, which was shown to NEWSWEEK—eight soldiers were wounded seriously enough to be evacuated to military hospitals. Yet at a press conference the next day, there was no mention of the attack. Pushed by reporters, U.S. officials would only say the incident was under investigation. It was as if the ambush, and the casualties, had never happened.” The CPA now requires press minders for reporters in Iraq. Bremer’s CPA: Incompetent, corrupt, or both? “Hoping to speed up reconstruction work in Iraq, American officials in Baghdad are offering contracts totaling hundreds of millions of dollars, but giving companies as little as three days to submit competing bids.” Madrid conference may raise only $2 billion rather than the $20 billion Bush needs. (And that includes $1.5 billion from Japan.) Where is all the money going? “European countries have criticized what they say is a lack of transparency in the fund's activities. ‘The international community knows nothing about the fund's management,’ contended one unnamed ‘Security Council diplomat’ who is quoted in the study. ‘We know that $1 billion went into it from the U.N. Oil-for-Food Program in May. Since then, that money has disappeared, and there are rumors that the current balance is zero.’” Baghdad International Airport: Lots of money spent, but no commercial traffic. “Yet Iraq is still the only country in the world without any commercial-airline service, and Baghdad is the only capital city, aside from Mogadishu, where local residents cannot fly in or out.” Neo-cons ignored pre-war State Department assessment. “Several officials said that many of the findings in the $5 million study were ignored by Pentagon officials until recently, although the Pentagon said they took the findings into account. The work is now being relied on heavily as occupation forces struggle to impose stability in Iraq.” Larry Di Rita is in full ass-covering deny and deceive mode over this revelation of his incompetence. Remember, the neo-cons canned Jay Garner and replaced him with L. Paul Bremer when Garner tried to tell them about the significance of this study. Other News Bush activates missile defense brigade. “But a report from the General Accounting Office released last month warned that only two of 10 technologies in the defense system are ready. John Pike, director of Globalsecurity.org, a defense think-tank, said the military has shown that shooting down incoming missiles is ‘physically possible,’ not that it can work in a realistic attack scenario. ‘If the only thing standing between an American city and a North Korean missile is this (technology), we are in trouble,’ Pike said.”