Today in Iraq

War News for February 13 and 14, 2004. Bring 'em on: One US soldier killed, two wounded in bomb ambush near Baghdad. Bring 'em on: ICDC routed by insurgent attack in Fallujah; 20 killed, 30 wounded. Bring 'em on: Two US soldiers killed, one wounded in roadside bomb ambush near Baghdad. Bring 'em on: Mortar attack reported in Samawah. Bring 'em on: General Abazaid's ground convoy ambushed in Fallujah; two Iraqis killed. Bring 'em on: Two US soldiers wounded in separate attacks near Kirkuk. Bring 'em on: Three US soldiers wounded in mortar attack near Baghdad. Bring 'em on: Two Iraqi policemen killed in Ramadi ambush. British soldier dies in vehicle accident near Shaibah. CENTCOM website now omits non-battle deaths. USAID report documents increasing violence in Iraq. "It attributed some of the civilian violence to rising ethnic tensions between Kurds, Shias and Sunnis, noting that several corpses, probably of ex-Ba'athists, were found in the south 'with hands bound and bullet wounds to the head'…Iraqi security advisers to the Governing Council have put part of the blame for the failure to contain the violence on the decision of Paul Bremer, US administrator, to abolish the country's security forces." Shi'ites losing patience with US presence and lack of security. UN elections envoy rules out early vote, warns of civil war. IGC members favor abandoning Bremer's caucus plan. "Opposition to the US plan among the Governing Council is significant because it was a signatory of the November 15 agreement, along with the US-led occupation authority. Following yesterday's meeting with Brahimi, several council members from different factions, as well as others familiar with the discussions, said opposition among Iraqi leaders was likely to quash the caucus formula." US military suicide rate increasing. Find this sorry bastard and lock his ass away. Halliburton's taxpayer-gouging investigated. " Company managers, they say, ordered employees to break up purchase orders into pieces of less than $2,500, the threshold at which a contractor must seek bids from more than one vendor. One vendor could receive several contracts under the threshold without sparking greater scrutiny." US troops accused of drowning Iraqi civilian near Samarra. Iraqi hospitals in ruins. Chalabi's exiles systematically lied to US intelligence. And Wolfie, Feith and Perle systematically sucked it all up, too. Support the troops! Bush-appointed panel recommends closing three VA hospitals. And they also recommended building a new hospital in Florida for Jebby Bush. Big surprise! British television covers the story the Americam media won't touch. "One patient, Staff Sergeant Maurice Craft, had his leg blown off in November by a roadside bomb in Baghdad. He'd gone to liberate a land whose people turned out to be hostile. It was a nasty surprise...Says Sgt Craft, 'A lot of people are getting hit. What they are showing are the deaths. They are not showing this here. They have a death toll but they're not showing the number of people being hit and being amputated because of their injuries.' "Channel 4 News: 'And in you're opinion, the number of wounded in action, the number wounded generally, is quite high?' "'Yes'... "President Bush may have declared major combat operations in Iraq over ten months ago, but fresh planeloads of wounded soldiers continue to fly into Andrews Air Force base every week, unseen by most Americans." Commentary Editorial: Bush's Iraq adventure goes bad. "Of course, CPA flacksters might dismiss this on-scene reporting, insisting instead that the 'silent majority' is on our side. But, if so, why has the CPA opposed a genuine vote on the future of the country this summer -- breaking earlier commitments about bringing true democracy to Iraq? After all, if Americans could conquer Iraq in two weeks, couldn't they hold an election in 15 months? But maybe the Bush administration is afraid of the election results. After all, it would not be good for George W. Bush's own election results, this coming November, if post-Saddam Hussein Iraq elected a fundamentalist Islamic cleric, complete with beard, turban and anti-American zeal." Opinion: Conservative says Lieutenant AWOL is no Reagan. " If Reagan could deal with Lebanon and Iran-Contra within a few months, surely Bush could have done the same with Iraq. By choosing not to do so, Bush has shown himself unworthy to claim the Reagan mantle." Opinion: The Fear President. " Actually, President Bush wants you emotionally stuck in the horrible aftermath of the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. The weeks following the atrocities saw the president transformed into a forceful commander-in-chief and brought him sky-high approval ratings. With his ratings now down to about 50 percent, he'd love to flytrap American voters in a 9/11 mindset until November -- which, he thinks, would ensure his re-election." Casualty Reports Local story: California soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Oregon soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Wyoming Guardsman dies in Iraq. Local story: Arizona Guardsman killed in Iraq. Local story: Virginia soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Iowa soldier wounded in Iraq. Local story: New York soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Ohio soldier wounded in Iraq. Local story: Maine soldier wounded in Iraq. Awards and Decorations Local story: Two Virginia Marines decorated for valor. George W. Bush's military records. 86-43-04. 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