Today in Iraq

War News for April 11, 2004 draft Bring ‘em on: US helicopter shot down in Baghdad, two US soldiers killed. Bring ‘em on: One US soldier killed in fighting in Baquba. Bring ‘em on: Two German security guards killed in western Iraq. Bring ‘em on: Insurgents threaten to kill US hostage. Bring ‘em on: One US airman killed, two wounded in mortar attack near Balad. Bring ‘em on: “Several” British soldiers reported killed in artillery attack in southern Iraq. Bring ‘em on: Two US intelligence officers reported killed near Fallujah. Bring ‘em on: Gunfire and explosions reported in central Baghdad. Bring ‘em on: IGC member attacked near Hilla, three bodyguards wounded. Bring ‘em on: Multiple firefights reported in Baquba. Bring ‘em on: Six US Marines killed in Al-Anbar province. Bring ‘em on: City hall in Karbala attacked with RPG and small arms fire. Bring ‘em on: Hondouran soldier wounded on patrol near Najaf. Bring ‘em on: Four Iraqis killed in firefights with US troops in Kirkuk. Bring ‘em on: Two US Marines wounded by sniper fire in Fallujah. Bring ‘em on: Security contractors attacked near Mosul. Truce reported in Fallujah. ICDC battalion mutinies. “The 620-man 2nd Battalion of the Iraqi Armed Forces refused to fight Monday after members of the unit were shot at in a Shiite Muslim neighborhood in Baghdad while en route to Fallujah, a Sunni Muslim stronghold, said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton, the official overseeing the development of Iraqi security forces. The convoy then turned around and returned to the battalion's home on a former Republican Guard base in Taji, a town north of the capital.” Baghdad report on the early stages Iraqi uprising. “On Saturday night, Iraqi police fired into a crowd of demonstrators in Baghdad's Tahrir Square. According to media reports, three demonstrators were killed. So at Sunday's demonstration, when the angry and unarmed crowd of several hundred moved toward them, the US soldiers who guard the hotels from tanks and towers behind blast walls shot into the crowd, injuring at least two people.” Report from Fallujah. “In the areas outside Falluja, the American army controls only what it can shoot. Everything else is up for grabs. In three days of travelling between Falluja and the nearby city of Ramadi, we saw more resistance fighters, often carrying several RPGs and heavy machineguns, than American soldiers. Few bothered to cover their faces.” Lieutenant AWOL misses fishing photo op. “The Iraq crisis forced President Bush to skip a fishing outing for a television show Saturday, but he caught a big bass for the camera the previous afternoon…The White House is sensitive to charges Bush is loafing at a time of chaos in Iraq. It released a photo of Bush meeting with his national security team Saturday, but it did not release its photos of Bush fishing with the television crew.” Soldiers in Iraq asked to pray for Lieutenant AWOL. “Thousands of marines have been given a pamphlet called "A Christian's Duty," a mini prayer book which includes a tear-out section to be mailed to the White House pledging the soldier who sends it in has been praying for Bush… The pamphlet, produced by a group called In Touch Ministries, offers a daily prayer to be made for the US president, a born-again Christian who likes to invoke his God in speeches.” Personally, I prefer to offer hymns for Bush. My favorite is, “Fuck Hymn.” Commentary Opinion: “How the many intelligent people in U.S. President George Bush's administration can continue to make so many enormous blunders both astounds and dismays. Two examples: Australia is facing a tight electoral race between Conservative Prime Minister John Howard, who eagerly sent troops to Iraq, and Labour party challenger Mark Latham, who, like Spain's new PM, vows to bring his nation's troops home from Iraq. A majority of Australians opposes the Iraq war. U.S. Ambassador Tom Schieffer, a Texas pal of Bush, warned Australians of ‘serious consequences’ if they elect Latham. Australians love America, but any worldly person knows you do not threaten Aussies. They will come out swinging. Schieffer should be fired. Far worse, however, is America's ham-handed Iraq proconsul, Paul Bremer. A neo-conservative ideologue, Bremer was responsible for two of the Bush administration's most disastrous mistakes in Iraq: Disbanding Iraq's army, and firing tens of thousands of government bureaucrats because they were Baath party members. ” Analysis: “The administration has been flooding U.S. airwaves with voter-pleasing bromides about American leadership in promulgating Iraqi democracy. At the same time, unfortunately, it has pursued policies that guarantee the Iraqis will never respect or follow them.” Casualty Reports Local story: Tennessee soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Colorado Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Connecticut Guardsman killed in Iraq. Local story: New York soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Ohio soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: New Mexico contractor killed in Iraq. Local story: Wisconsin soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Texas Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Pennsylvania soldier dies of wounds received in Iraq. Local story: Ohio Guardsman wounded in Iraq.