Today in Iraq

War News for June 15, 2004 Bring ‘em on: Five Kurdish Iraqi Army recruits killed near Samarra. Bring ‘em on: Anti-US rioting follows Baghdad car bombing. Bring ‘em on: US troops under mortar fire near Mosul. Bring ‘em on: One civilian contractor killed by roadside bomb in Baghdad. Bring ‘em on: Four Iraqis killed, four wounded by roadside bomb near Salman Pak. Bring ‘em on: One Iraqi policeman killed in attack on Mosul police station. Bring ‘em on: Four ICDC members killed by roadside bomb near Mosul. Bring ‘em on: US convoy ambushed by roadside bomb near Fallujah. Bring ‘em on: Five Iraqis killed in fighting with US troops near Ramadi. Bring ‘em on: Bomb explodes at intersection near Baghdad airport. Bring ‘em on: US troops under mortar fire near Karbala. US forces arrest al-Sadr aide in Karbala. Abu Ghraib. “In the interview with BBC radio on Tuesday, Karpinski said Geoffrey Miller, a two-star general sent to Iraq from the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, had ordered new procedures in cell blocs where Iraqis were interrogated. ‘He said, at Guantanamo Bay we've learned that the prisoners have to earn every single thing they have,’ Karpinski said. ‘He said they are like dogs, and if you allow them to believe at any point they are more than a dog then you've lost control of them.’ The United States has charged low-ranking military police officers commanded by Karpinski with abuse after several of them appeared in photographs abusing detainees...‘The intelligence operation was directed. It was under a separate command and there was no reason for me to go out to look at Abu Ghraib at cell bloc 1a or 1b or visit the interrogation facilities.’” Iraqi interim government wants custody of Saddam Hussein and other detainees by June 30th. Congenital liar. “Vice President Dick Cheney said Monday that Saddam Hussein had ‘long-established ties’ with al-Qaida, an assertion that has been repeatedly challenged by some policy experts and lawmakers.” PTSD. “The 2nd Infantry Division is experiencing a surge in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among soldiers who rotated here from assignments in Iraq or Afghanistan, says a senior health official…’By June, 50 to 60 percent of NCOs (noncommissioned officers) in the division will have come directly from combat theater. The majority of my caseload is NCOs with PTSD,’ she said.” Bring THIS on: “Private Lynndie England was seen in photographs pointing at naked Iraqi detainees, at Abu Ghraib jail near Baghdad, and even holding one on a leash. She has insisted that she was acting on orders and her lawyers may call defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and vice-president Dick Cheney to give evidence at her forthcoming court martial. Other possible witnesses are deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz and the commander of US forces in Iraq Lieutenant General Ricardo, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. According to the report, lawyers intend to defend 21-year-old England on the grounds that she was following orders to “soften up” detainees before interrogation. They are expected to argue that top Bush Administration officials are implicated in the affair.” Commentary Editorial: “Confidence is one thing. Competence is another. Before Rumsfeld and President Bush move to change the face of the American military overseas, Congress must ask some hard questions. Shouldn't the failures in Iraq and the antipathy of our allies toward the United States raise serious questions about Rumsfeld's understanding of military and geopolitical strategy?” Editorial: “The actual figures suggest the United States isn't prevailing at all in that fight. Why does it matter? Because for two years, critics of the Bush administration's war in Iraq have argued that it was a serious diversion from the war on terror, an unnecessary war that may benefit the people of Iraq but has made safeguarding the United States more difficult, rather than less. In effect, critics of the administration have argued consistently that President Bush's determination to be hard on Saddam Hussein inevitably meant he would be soft on the global threat from terrorism. The figures for 2003 bear out the criticism.” Opinion: “You know, just because you put some rules to abuse or torture doesn't mean that you're then playing patty-cake. In any case, torture-lite is a lot like being a little pregnant. There may be degrees of torture, but it's still torture even if you're not ripping out fingernails or using hot pokers.” Analysis: “What ultimately matters is whether the resolution gives the interim government the authority it needs to gain Iraqis' approval. The new resolution is vague on the government's powers, portending continued confusion. In the end, how the new Iraqi government, the UN and the US handle issues of security, resources and a governing legal framework will be critical.” Casualty Reports Local story: Oregon Guardsman killed in Iraq. Local story: Oregon Guardsman wounded in Iraq. Local story: Oregon Guardsman wounded in Iraq. Local story: Oregon soldier injured in Iraq. 86-43-04. Pass it on.