Today in Iraq

War News for August 11, 2004 Bring ‘em on: Fighting continues in Sadr City. Bring ‘em on: Heavy fighting continues in Najaf. Bring ‘em on: US troops now reported in heavy fighting near Mosul. Bring ‘em on: Thirty Iraqis killed, 219 wounded in fighting in Kut, Diwaniyah, and Baghdad. Bring ‘em on: Madhi Army reported in control of Sadr City. Bring ‘em on: Mahdi Army reported in control of Kufa and Kut. Bring ‘em on: SCIRI official assassinated near Mahmoudiyah. Bring ‘em on: Six Iraqis killed, ten wounded by bomb in village near Baghdad. Bring ‘em on: Six Iraqis killed, 15 wounded in fighting with British troops near Amarah. Bring ‘em on: Ukrainian patrol ambushed near Wasit. Bring ‘em on: Iraqi soldier killed in patrol ambush near Fallujah. Bring ‘em on: Egyptian hostage executed in Iraq. Bring ‘em on: Ukrainian convoy ambushed by roadside bomb neat Kut. Bring ‘em on: Two Iraqi soldiers wounded in fighting near Kut. Bring ‘em on: Ramadi chief of Allawi’s political party assassinated. Bring ‘em on: Japanese troops under mortar fire near Samawah. Iraq’s interim deputy president urges US troops to leave Najaf. Southern Iraqi provinces threaten to secede. “Southern Iraqi governorates plan to split from the Iraqi central government in Baghdad because the interim administration has failed to support Iraqis fighting occupation forces in Najaf, al-Jazeera reported. The Basra, Misan and Dhi Qar governorates intend to form a new province, the Qatar-based television network said, citing unidentified Iraqi officials. The officials cited Basra's Deputy Governor Salam Uda al-Maliki as saying yesterday he will make the announcement. Maliki didn't say when the split will be made.” Allawi gives Chalabi’s political party 24 hours to un-ass Baghdad. Medevac. “An American soldier screams as medics hoist him into a helicopter on a stretcher, his face twisted with pain from shrapnel wounds to his arm and head. Roaring rotor blades drown out the young man's cry as the Black Hawk lurches upwards, its wheels seeming to brush the flat roofs of central Baghdad in a full-throttle race to hospital. For U.S. medics riding to the airborne rescue of the wounded, a surge in fighting in Iraq since Aug. 5 has shattered weeks of relative calm at their base.” Fighting in Najaf. “In the battle to control one of the world's largest graveyards, U.S. Marines and soldiers say they are coping with a lot, including lingering regret. The vast cemetery in Najaf is sacred to Shiite Muslims, perhaps 2 million of whom lie buried in miles of desert adjoining the shrine of Imam Ali, son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad. Soldiers involved in the fighting described how many of the most recent graves are marked by photos, which crumble when U.S. forces shell the cemetery walls to reach the militiamen hiding within.” CheneyBurton. “Pentagon auditors have concluded that Halliburton Co. failed to adequately account for more than $1.8 billion of work in Iraq and Kuwait, the Wall Street Journal said on Wednesday, citing a Pentagon report. The amount represents 43 percent of the $4.18 billion that Houston-based Halliburton's Kellogg Brown & Root unit has billed the Pentagon to feed and house troops in the region, the newspaper said.” Commentary Analysis: “In this we certainly have a nasty brew of remarkable incompetence and manipulative acts aimed at helping George Bush get re-elected - the modus operandi of this administration for at least the past year or so. Can there be any question that the Bush men would consider almost any scenario that might advance their candidate's second-term fortunes? I think not. But their incompetence shouldn't be overlooked either; nor should we focus too exclusively on such scenarios ourselves. In that focus lies a lurking fatalism that has its own dangers. It leads to an overestimation of the Machiavellian abilities of the somewhat inept Busheviks, treating them as if they were a comic-book cohort of X-men, superhuman in their ability to grab fate decisively by the throat, reorganize reality to suit their needs, and manipulate the US public. In fact, if you think about it a moment, the Bush administration has proved far less competent since it tossed the Iraqi dice than either its top officials or most of its opponents ever conceived possible. And there's a surprise for you!” Analysis: “What are the merits of the charges? All the Iraqi exile groups that entered Baghdad in the wake of American tanks last year swiftly discredited themselves among ordinary Iraqis by their lawlessness and greed. Ahmed Chalabi's Iraqi National Congress, very much his personal political vehicle, established itself in the Hunting Club, once the haunt of the Iraqi elite. It became notorious among Iraqi businessmen that if you wanted to do business with the U.S. occupation you had to give a cut to the Iraqi National Congress or other Iraqi exile groups.” Casualty Reports Local story: Texas soldier dies from wounds received in Iraq. Local story: Georgia Marine wounded in Iraq. Local story: Four US soldiers wounded in Iraq. Local story: One US soldier, two US Marines wounded in Iraq. 86-43-04. Pass it on.