Today in Iraq

War News for July 19, 2004 Bring ‘em on: Ten Iraqis killed by truck bomb at Baghdad police station. Bring ‘em on: Police chief kidnapped, assassinated in Fallujah. Bring ‘em on: RPG attack on Baghdad police station wounds one. Bring ‘em on: One US soldier wounded in roadside bomb ambush near Baghdad. Bring ‘em on: Senior Iraqi defense ministry official assassinated in Baghdad. Bring ‘em on: One Turkish driver killed, one missing in convoy ambush near Mosul. Bring ‘em on: Two Iraqis wounded by bomb near Baquba. Bring ‘em on: Turkmenistan broadcaster killed in ambush near Mosul. Allawi permits Al-Sadr’s newspaper to publish again. Bloody July. “Since the June 28 handover of power, the 160,000 coalition forces have averaged more than two deaths a day, among the highest rate of losses since the war began 15 months ago. By Saturday, 36 US soldiers had died this month, compared with 42 last month, according to a Globe analysis of official statistics.” Poland plans to reduce troop levels in January. Philippines completes withdrawal from Iraq. Military retiree recall. “Seven years ago, Lexington psychiatrist Charles Ham retired from the Army. Or at least he thought so. Then, the other day, he got a call telling him to report to Fort Jackson for a physical examination. Ham, who wore a U.S. Army uniform for 41 years, knew 5,600 veterans who recently had left the service were being called up. But he never thought he would be on the list. ‘You know, I’m 67 years old. Why do you need me?’ Ham asked. The caller explained the Army needed psychiatrists to counsel troops.” The US media fumbles again. “The US media has surprisingly failed to pick up the shocking disclosure by Sydney Morning Herald, Australia’s leading newspaper, that the Irqai Prime Minister Iyad Allawi personally executed six suspected insurgents in a Baghdad police station. The story by award-winning Australian journalist Paul McGeough said that the prisoners were handcuffed and blindfolded, lined up against a courtyard wall and shot by the Iraqi PM. Dr Allawi is alleged to have told those around him that he wanted to send a clear message to the police on how to deal with insurgents. Two people allege they witnessed the killings and there are also claims the Iraqi interior minister and four American men were present.” Robin Cook calls for ICRC investigation of Allawi allegations. “The former British foreign secretary, Robin Cook, has urged the International Committee for the Red Cross to investigate witness claims that the new Iraqi prime minister, Iyad Allawi, shot dead six insurgents last month. Revelations of the accounts of the killings by chief Herald correspondent Paul McGeough at the weekend and the refusal of US authorities to deny them outright sparked concerns around the world.” Army doctor at Landstuhl AMC. “We receive an average of three planeloads a week of U.S. patients from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. That's 60 to 100 patients per load, with problems ranging from simple infections and kidney stones, to multitrauma injuries from bomb and mortar blasts… The whole Iraq thing has certainly polarized our nation, but the news you hear every day doesn't even come close to scratching the surface on how rough things are in Iraq from what the soldiers tell me and from what I see.” The Fallujah Model: "With Fallujah being touted by Iraqi fighters as a successful example of how to liberate their country from the US-led occupation, and by the occupation leaders as a successful example of how to hand over the country to its people and avoid further bloodshed, I set out to discover the reality behind the ‘Fallujah model.’ What I found was a city run by the Iraqi resistance, itself divided between those who supported the ceasefire with occupation forces in May that ended a month's heavy fighting in the city and those who sought to continue the struggle throughout Iraq ‘and all the way to Jerusalem.’” This is a good article written by a journalist with a perspective other than a press release obtained from the media handlers in the Green Zone. You don’t see items like this in the US media. Of course, you don’t see many journalists in the US media, either. Commentary Opinion: “It is perfectly clear that President Bush had no proof of weapons of mass destruction until he pressured the CIA to manufacture some. It is clear that the President and Vice President told an outright lie when they said there was a connection between Iraq and al Qaeda. Several former CIA operatives have reported that even the CIA told the administration on at least three occasions that that was not so. Even so, today Vice President Cheney continues to insist that they had evidence of a link.” Editorial: “But the report's concerns also lead back to the US company that has become inextricably linked with the occupation: Halliburton. Given that the US vice president Dick Cheney was previously chief executive of Halliburton, the potential conflict of interest over its business dealings in Iraq were always going to be a focus of concern. Yet when the monitoring board's auditors asked for details of contracts involving Halliburton being paid for out of the oil funds, the Pentagon repeatedly refused. At issue are three contracts, worth a total of $1.4bn, awarded in noncompetitive tenders - meaning Halliburton was the sole bidder. The monitoring board rightly concluded that further investigation is required.” Analysis: “With Bush's approval ratings dipping ahead of November's presidential elections, Musharraf is being forced to deliver on two poll-lifting promises - Pakistani troops for Iraq and a "high-value al-Qaeda target". He is under pressure from Bush administration heavyweights who have been streaming into Islamabad at frequent intervals bearing gifts and lists of demands.” Editorial: The man, who more than a year ago declared that the heavy lifting in Iraq was done, only to discover that the fight had barely started, is now back with another over-the-top pronouncement. ‘Today,’ Bush said last week, ‘because America has acted and because America has led, the forces of terror and tyranny have suffered defeat after defeat, and America and the world are safer.’” Casualty Reports Local story: Michigan Guardsman killed in Iraq. Local story: Montana soldier wounded in Iraq. 86-43-04. Pass it on.