Today in Iraq

War News for Sunday, November 14, 2004 Bring ‘em on: Three US Marines killed, 13 wounded in Fallujah fighting. Bring ‘em on: Fighting continues in Fallujah. Bring ‘em on: Fighting continues in Mosul as Kurdish militia deploys against Arab insurgents. Bring ‘em on: Heavy fighting reported near Beiji. Bring ‘em on: Two US Marines killed by roadside bomb near Fallujah. Bring ‘em on: US military convoy ambushed near Baghdad airport. Bring ‘em on: US patrol ambushed near Baquba. Bring ‘em on: Oil pipeline ablaze near Taji. Bring ‘em on: Mayor of Baghdad suburb assassinated. Bring ‘em on: Romanian military convoy ambushed. Bring ‘em on: More fighting reported in Ramadi. Bring ‘em on: One US soldier killed, three wounded in fighting near Baghdad. Bring ‘em on: Two Iraqi children killed in mortar attack near Samarra. Bring ‘em on: Fighting reported in central Baghdad education ministry. Bring ‘em on: US patrol ambushed near Tal Afar. Bring ‘em on: Series of explosions reported in Baghdad’s Green Zone. Bring ‘em on: Three US Marine convoys attacked near Ramadi. Bring ‘em on: Ten US contractors wounded in mortar attack on LSA Anaconda near Balad. Ramadi “out of control.” Sunday morning news round-up from The Independent. “In Mosul, masked gunmen took over banks and government buildings without interference from either US forces or Iraqi government troops. US warplanes had bombed the city 24 hours earlier and the police chief had been sacked after being accused of colluding with rebels. But there were reports of policemen changing into civilian clothes and joining the insurgents. Duriad Kashmoula, the governor of Mosul, blamed the uprising on "the betrayal of some police members". In other districts, vigilantes set up roadblocks and patrolled neighbourhoods. The US military said the insurgents in Mosul were local people, not fighters coming from Fallujah.” Iraqi national security advisor says, “mission accomplished.” Lieutenant AWOL. “In his weekly radio address, Bush praised the assault on Fallujah, west of Baghdad. About 80 percent of the city was said to be under U.S. control, with insurgents pushed into a narrow corner. But the battle has claimed at least 24 American lives and wounded about 170 U.S. troops, and violence has now spread to other Sunni Muslim areas of Iraq. An Iraqi official estimated that about 1,000 insurgents had been killed so far in the weeklong offensive. The American forces launched a major attack against insurgent holdouts in southern Fallujah, hoping to finish off resistance in the city. At the same time, a U.S. infantry battalion was diverted from Fallujah to the northern city of Mosul, where the regional governor said "the betrayal of some police members" had spawned an armed uprising in recent days. The fighting in Mosul has killed at least 10 Iraqi National Guards and one American soldier, the U.S. military said.” The Great Purge. “The White House has ordered the new CIA director, Porter Goss, to purge the agency of officers believed to have been disloyal to President George W. Bush or of leaking damaging information to the media about the conduct of the Iraq war and the hunt for Osama bin Laden, according to knowledgeable sources. ‘The agency is being purged on instructions from the White House,’ said a former senior CIA official who maintains close ties to both the agency and to the White House. ‘Goss was given instructions ... to get rid of those soft leakers and liberal Democrats. The CIA is looked on by the White House as a hotbed of liberals and people who have been obstructing the president's agenda.’” PTSD. “In soldiers like LaBranche — their bodies whole but their psyches deeply wounded — a crisis is unfolding, mental health experts say. One out of six soldiers returning from Iraq is suffering the effects of post-traumatic stress — and as more come home, that number is widely expected to grow. The Pentagon, which did not anticipate the extent of the problem, is scrambling to find resources to address it. A study by the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research found that 15.6% of Marines and 17.1% of soldiers surveyed after they returned from Iraq suffered major depression, generalized anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder — a debilitating, sometimes lifelong change in the brain's chemistry that can include flashbacks, sleep disorders, panic attacks, violent outbursts, acute anxiety and emotional numbness.” Support the troops! “Just seven months into a new Army program to give one-on-one, long-term help to severely injured combat veterans, program officials have identified about 880 soldiers who are potentially eligible for the assistance, according to Col. Robert H. Woods, director of the Army’s Human Resources Policy Directorate… The program began with $1 million in start-up funds, but Congress added significantly to that pot in the Pentagon’s fiscal 2005 budget, setting aside $4.5 million in fiscal 2005 for DS3, according to Col. Jacqueline Cumbo, chief of the Army’s Human Factors Division.” Commentary Analysis: “The Defense Dept pretends not to know the exact makeup of the resistance, but this too is misleading. The ‘Iraqi insurgency’ is mainly comprised of the 400,000 soldiers who Rumsfeld sent home (with their weapons) after the fall of Baghdad. American’s would be enraged to know that their sons and daughters are being killed by the very same conscripts who were willing to work for the occupation before they were dismissed. Pepe Escobar reports these same soldiers, ‘are operating with small mobile units of five or six or a maximum of 20 fighters, changing positions all the time. As a counter-measure, American snipers are trying to control the rooftops. The mujahideen are trying to attract as many American troops to the city center as possible so they can unleash what seems to be hundreds of coordinated car bombs and improvised explosive devices.’” Analysis: “Troops are in Fallujah because of a political failure: Large numbers of Sunnis either wouldn't, or couldn't, participate in the political process and the coming elections. Greater security in Fallujah may move citizens (whenever they return) to take part in the voting; it's too early to say. But it's certain that you can't bomb people into the polling booths. We should be under no illusions: This is not so much a war as it is an effort to birth a nation. It is past time for the administration to undertake diplomatic efforts in the region and political efforts inside Iraq that are worthy of the risks and burdens born by our men and women in uniform. No one knows better than they do: You cannot win in Iraq simply by killing the opponent. Much as we honor our troops and pray for their well-being, if diplomacy fails, their sacrifices and even their successes in Fallujah won't be enough.” If you only read one article today, read this one. The author is an expert on this subject. Casualty Reports Local story: Tennessee Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: California Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Wisconsin Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Ohio Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Iowa Marine dies in Iraq. Local story: Illinois contractor killed in Iraq.