Today in Iraq

January 29, 2004 I'll be travelling for the next week, so I can't promise to have updates posted in the morning which is my usual goal. Today I'll be flying all day, so I won't post an update until tomorrow.

War News for January 28, 2004 Bring ‘em on: Three US soldiers killed, three wounded in bomb ambush near Iskandariya. Bring ‘em on: Two CNN employees killed in ambush near Baghdad. Bring ‘em on: Car bomb kills four in Baghdad. Bring ‘em on: Unexploded car bomb discovered near CPA headquarters in Baghdad. Bring 'em on: One Iraqi policeman killed in attack on Haditha police station. Arab tribal chiefs demonstrate in Kirkuk against Kurdish autonomy. (Last paragraph.) More on ethnic division in Kirkuk. Bremer says ICDC incapable of maintaining internal security. “’Iraq will not be capable of meeting the security threat they are likely to face in July without continued assistance from other countries,’ Bremer told reporters at Camp Claiborne, on the outskirts of Mosul.” Campus murders in Baghdad. “At least four professors have been killed since the fall of former leader Saddam Hussein in April 2003, said the deputy chairman of the university's post-graduate department, Mohammed al-Ani.” Commentary Editorial: We need an investigation into Bush’s rush to war. “PNAC's influence on the administration and its decision-making is obvious.” Opinion: “These recent admissions about Iraq's WMD capabilities prior to the war demand accountability. Kay said the White House could not be blamed for the intelligence lapses, but in truth, this administration seemed very eager to go to war with Iraq; as former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill notes in his new book, such a war was one of the top priorities on the administration when it first took office in 2001. Was bad intelligence taken at face value because it conveniently fit the administration's intentions? As citizens of the world's only superpower, we cannot tolerate such muscle-flexing recklessness -- especially when it puts our soldiers in harm's way. We've been hearing reasons, excuses and rationalizations for more than a year. Now it's time for some explanations.” Opinion: “All of this suggests a slipshod, if not negligent, disregard for the notion that the consent of the governed is an indispensable ingredient of democracy, at least on issues of great moment. Whether the mistakes were deliberate or not is another issue. Mr. Kay insists that the intelligence community owes the president an explanation. Intelligence officials have said, however, that analysts were under political pressure to produce assessments that supported the White House. The president, as if unaware of how this undermines his war rationale, stuck to his story. He asserted yesterday that ‘Hussein was a gathering threat to America and others.’” (Emphasis added) Casualty Reports Local story: Pennsylvania soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Washington State soldier missing in Iraq. Local story: Minnesota soldier missing in Iraq. Local story: Maryland soldier missing in Iraq Local story: Two Florida soldiers wounded in Iraq.

War News for January 27, 2004 Bring 'em on: US convoy attacked, relief force ambushed in Khaldiyah. Three US soldiers killed. Bring 'em on: Polish headquarters attacked in Karbala. One Iraqi policeman killed. Bring 'em on: CPA headquarters in Baghdad rocketed. Bring 'em on: Seven Iraqi police officers killed in two attacks in Ramadi. Bring 'em on: One Iraqi civilian wounded by roadside bomb in Baghdad. Bring 'em on: Two Iraqi policemen killed in attack on checkpoint near Al-Amiriyah. Bring 'em on: Two Iraqi civilians killed by roadside bomb in Baghdad. Bring 'em on: Drive-by shooting at home of Karbala police chief kills one Iraqi policeman. Bring 'em on: US troops in Kirkuk mortared for second day. Analysis: Insurgency a result of botched US occupation. Bushies squabbling over Operation Cut and Run. "Vice President Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld favor a proposal to turn over power early - by April 1 - to the Governing Council, a body of U.S.-installed Iraqi leaders, said two senior U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity… The State Department, the National Security Council staff, and the CIA oppose the idea, the officials said. National security adviser Condoleezza Rice and senior U.S. diplomats prefer a 'go slow' approach, said the second senior U.S. official." Now who do you suppose will make a decision on this issue? IGC interim interior minister says Iraq not stable enough for elections. I wonder if he ever got his suitcase full of new dinars back from the Beirut customs office? Analysis: Sunni instability in Iraq. "The downfall of Saddam Hussein has exposed deep-rooted centrifugal forces in Iraq. One of the achievements of the former Baathist regime was its tentative success in submerging the inherent tensions of Iraqi identity into a wider pan-Arab unity. The rapid disintegration of the regime after the US military onslaught and Saddam’s humiliating capture arguably destroyed the last surviving plank of Arab nationalism." Report on female US soldiers serving in Iraq. Bremer's CPA has the ponies running again. Who says I don't report the success stories? Death of an Iraqi policeman. Compensation for Iraqis. "Nooraddin, 72, has been visiting United States military offices and waiting for word for nearly four months, trying to win compensation under the Foreign Claims Act (FCA) after his 38-year-old son, Mazen, was shot and killed by US soldiers on June 28 as he waited for a taxi near his home. Mazen was sprayed by bullets fired by a US soldier in response to a machine gun attack by men standing more than 100 feet away. A 200-foot wide swath of bullet holes is still evident on the walls and houses of the street where Mazen was killed." In comparison, I wonder how are Halliburton's reimbursement and compensation claims are handled? Short-timers in Mosul. Commentary Editorial: How to lose the war on terror. "The vice-president of the United States, Dick Cheney, spoke rather elegantly this weekend in Davos, Switzerland, about the strategic importance of promoting democracy throughout the Middle East. He said that 'encouraging the spread of freedom and democracy” in the Middle East “is the right thing to do, and it is also very much in our collective interest. Helping the peoples of the greater Middle East to overcome the freedom deficit is, ultimately, the key to winning the broader war on terror. It is one of the great tasks of our time and will require resolve and resources for a generation or more.' We agree. But we’re also getting slightly worried that the American government may feel that promoting democracy in the Middle East is primarily the responsibility of eloquent speechwriters in Washington, rather than a function of American policies on the ground in the region itself." Opinion: The fiasco in Baghdad is Bush's blue dress. "In no previous instance of presidential malfeasance was so much at stake, both in preserving constitutional safeguards and national security. This egregious deception in leading us to war on phony intelligence overshadows those scandals based on greed, such as Teapot Dome during the Harding administration, or those aimed at political opponents, such as Watergate. And the White House continues to dig itself deeper into a hole by denying reality even as its lieutenants one by one find the courage to speak the truth." Opinion: Did Baghdad Bob write Bush's SOTU? "Like with Baghdad Bob, you had to laugh out loud at the difference between the phony world painted by George Bush and the real world most Americans live in. There are, indeed, two Americas: George Bush’s America and the real America. And, as we learned in the State of the Union, the two are worlds apart." Editorial: It's time to formally investigate Bush's deceitful WMD claims. "It seems that President Bush cannot deliver a State of the Union address without deceiving the American people. Or, at the least, trying to deceive them." Casualty Reports Local story: New Hampshire soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Texas soldier killed in Iraq.

War News for January 26, 2004 Bring ‘em on: US troops responding to helicopter crash ambushed in Mosul. Bring ‘em on: Iraqi policeman killed in drive-by shooting in Mosul. Bring ‘em on: Truck carrying JSDF material attacked in Ramadi. Jordanian driver killed. Bring 'em on: US troops under rocket attack in Kirkuk. Bring 'em on: One Iraqi killed, three wounded by roadside bomb in Baghdad. Patrol boat founders, US helicopter crashes in Mosul. Three US soldiers missing, two Iraqi police and Iraqi interpreter killed. Iraqi Sunni group wants elections only after US leaves Iraq. “Sabah al-Qaisi, one of the founders of the Sunni council, told the Guardian that his members would not accept any elections organised by the US-led authority. The council, formed last month, is one of the first political groups to have emerged to represent the Sunni community since the Ba'ath party was outlawed last year. It comprises around 160 Sunni clerics, from moderates to extreme Islamists, although it cannot claim to speak for the entire community.” Analysis: “However, it is ominous that the foundations now being laid for the future appear to contain the seeds of a civil war. Iraq is made up of three main communities, and when one group feels marginalized it starts creating problems for the whole state. This was the case in the past with the Kurds and the Shi'a, and it is the case today with the Sunnis. What the current political process lacks, and it is a lack that the proposed elections will not remedy, is an initiative to bring to-gether the representatives of the main groups to reach a new social contract to replace the old one before the elections are held. To simply call for elections and draw up a political process to hand over authority to a major religious group without a clearly defined relationship between the communities would lead to disaster. What is needed today is a political process through which the three main communities can learn to compromise with each other, accommodate differences and achieve national reconciliation - before elections are held, not after-wards.” Iraqi Resistance Report, January 18 – 24, 2004. US officials suspect mole at CPA headquarters. “A defense official told The Washington Times the suspicion at this point is not based on conclusive evidence, but on supposition.” CPA may open contracts to foreign firms to build power stations. Northern pipeline remains closed due to security and repairs. Analysis: Attacks on oil pipelines and infrastructure. Commentary Editorial: Iraq’s Undemocratic Transition. “Iraqis are impatient to regain their sovereignty. But no one would benefit from a botched transition that embittered much of the Iraqi population. If delaying the turnover a few weeks would allow a more democratic transition, the U.N. should consider stretching out the timetable.” Casualty Reports Local story: Indiana soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: North Dakota soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Missouri soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Canadian contractor killed in Iraq.

War News for January 25, 2004 Bring 'em on: One US soldier killed in RPG ambush near Beiji. Bring 'em on: One Iraqi police officer killed in drive-by shooting in Baghdad. Bring 'em on: US patrol ambushed by roadside bomb in Baghdad. Bring 'em on: One Iraqi police officer killed, one wounded in ambush near Mosul. Bring 'em on: One Iraqi policeman killed, two wounded in pipeline IED attack near Kirkuk. (Last paragraph.) Bring 'em on: Two US soldiers wounded in convoy ambush near Fallujah targeting US flag officer. Al-Hakim says direct elections are possible before June 30. "'It can be done, if we want it and make the effort. I believe they can be run,' Hakim told Reuters in an interview." Analysis: Bush's master plan for miserable failure in Iraq. "During his initial presidential campaign Bush said he would steer clear of nation-building. Too bad he didn't stick to that, because he stinks at it. By diverting our attentions from Afghanistan to Iraq, he has allowed the terrorist incubator to devolve into a nation of fiefdoms controlled by warlords and revived elements of the Taliban. Iraq will be another failure. We are transferring power back to Iraqis on a schedule that makes a lot of sense for Bush-Cheney 2004 but not much for the country's future as a durable liberal democracy." Operation Cut and Run. " But in private conversations with the United Nations and its coalition partners, the Administration has begun to discuss abandoning the complex caucuses outlined in the agreement and even holding partial elections or simply handing over power to an expanded Iraqi Governing Council, an old proposal now back on the table, US and UN officials said…Yet in a sign of how much control the United States has lost since the November 15 accord, US officials concede that the most important calculations in ending the political crisis will be the positions of two players excluded from the original agreement: the United Nations and an aging ayatollah who has not left his home in six years." Remember when Lieutenant AWOL was running around braying about how he would "stay the course" and remain in Iraq "as long as it takes" to establish a viable Iraqi state? Now June 30th is carved in granite as the administration's date to haul ass because Lieutenant AWOL is worried about an election. The administration's Iraq policy has nothing to do with US security, regional stability or even American credibility. It's all about Bush's poll numbers. Article on Ayatollah al-Sistani. Also known as the Iraqi cleric who now directs US Iraq policy and owns Lieutenant AWOL's tiny testicles. Soldier sounds off about stop-loss. "I can’t help but notice how much difference there is pay-wise between me, an E-5, and a civilian contractor here in the Middle East doing a similar job. Before now, it’s been more like a subtle irritation. I was fully aware that even though I only had an active-status obligation of six years, like everyone else who initially enlists in the military I actually signed an eight-year contract. But now, since that eight-year contract is over and I’m still here, why should I be getting paid any less than the civilian contractors do?" Powell says maybe Iraq didn't have WMD after all. There is a crude old Army term that describes the art of screwing up in a spectacular fashion known as "stepping on one's own dick." A soldier who performs this feat regularly is referred to as "Paddledick" because…well, you can figure it out. We have an entire administration of paddledicks but only Powell might appreciate the nature and applicability of the insult. Bush's lies and manipulations weaken US security and cause the world to lose trust in America. WaPo says Cheney "reaches out to war critics." Reaches out or another reach-around? National Guard artillerymen retrain for MP duty in Iraq. It's interesting to note that in the run-up to the war Rumsfeld trimmed two military police brigades from the initial force structure recommended by professional military officers and supported by tactical doctrine. The lack of those MP's - whose mission is to provide area security - was blamed for the civil disorder that followed the fall of Saddam Hussein. Nine months later, the Army is still paying for Rummy's poor judgement. Can you say "Paddledick?" I knew you could. New strategy in Iraq. "Soldiers can't give candy to Iraqi children. It's forbidden to be 'too' friendly. It's important to look tough. That's what they are being told. The strategy in Iraq has evolved. There's no talk about hearts and minds. 'They will never like us,' says one senior officer. 'We need to move on.'" Commentary Opinion: Bush administration treats veterans with contempt. "This administration's policy towards those who have served honorably and that have sacrificed so much is abysmal. Why, Mr. Rumsfeld, is the DAV being restricted in providing much needed services to our veterans? And why, Mr. President, do you want to cut the budgets on the backs of wounded veterans and break the faith with those that are wearing the uniform today?" Opinion: Bush's SOTU priorities. "Not a single name of the 500 Americans killed in Iraq was read. There was room for quarterback Tom Brady, but there were no widows or orphans sitting in the box with the first lady. No wounded need apply for a place in the Martian rhetoric." Opinion: Bush's blurred vision. "His grand vision told Bush that American troops invading Iraq would be hailed as liberators, not hated as occupiers, and that the transformation of Iraq under American sponsorship into a Jeffersonian democracy would have a domino effect in democratizing the entire Islamic world. That dream has waned, and so has the vision that lies behind it… The United States is today an occupying power in a bitterly hostile land. In a couple of years, Bush the younger has succeeded in turning the international wave of sympathy that engulfed the United States after 9-11 into worldwide dislike, distrust and even hatred. With his Iraq vision collapsing around him, Bush is trying to dump his self-created mess on the United Nations, heretofore an object of contempt in his administration. And he is trying out a new vision -- the moon and Mars." Casualty Reports Local story: North Dakota Guardsman killed in Iraq. US Civilian Casualty Local story: Halliburton employee from Delaware killed in Iraq.

War News for January 24, 2004 Bring 'em on: Three US soldiers killed, six wounded by car bomb attack in Khaldiyah. Bring 'em on: Two US soldiers killed in roadside bomb ambush near Fallujah. Bring 'em on: US soldier wounded by sniper ambush in Baghdad. Bring 'em on: Two Iraqis killed, 33 wounded, including seven US soldiers, by car bomb in Samarra. Bring 'em on: Two Iraqis killed in Baghdad bombing. Two US soldiers killed in helicopter crash near Mosul. One British soldier killed, one injured in road accident near Amarah. Al-Hakim says Bush's transition plan is "unacceptable." Al-Sistani calls for an end to election protests. "On Friday, addressing a prayer group in the holy city of Karbala, Ayatollah al-Sistani said no protests should be held until the United Nations' position has become clear, and 'after that we will say our word.'" Internal survey indicates Bush's War causing major retention problems in Reserve components. Kirkuk fractures along ethnic lines. Language barriers in Iraq. Building new Iraqi Army will take "years." " With unlimited funds, it would take at least three to five years to train and equip enough soldiers to constitute a viable Iraqi army. But that access to money to hire and equip troops isn’t a reality, especially with various agencies competing for money to rebuild all facets of the country, Eaton said from Baghdad during a Wednesday press briefing with Pentagon reporters." Insurgents target Iraqis working with US and coalition forces. Attacks on Iraqi oil facilities continue. Cheney earns his salary from Halliburton. "'The company is a great company. They do great work for the federal government, as well as for their customers around the world,' he told Fox News Radio in an interview Wednesday. 'They've had now, I believe, some 15 people killed -- either Halliburton employees or subcontractors working for them. They are operating in a combat zone. They're rendering great service, and they make about three cents on the dollar for it. This is not the most profitable part of their business portfolio, by any means. They do it because they're good at it, because they won the contract to do it. And, frankly, the company takes a certain amount of pride in rendering this kind of service to U.S. military forces.'" Dick Cheney crawled out of his undisclosed spider hole to do a Fox Radio interview defending his old company which is currently under a criminal investigation for gouging the US taxpayers on oil supply contracts for troops in Iraq, and which also admitted taking 6.3 million in kickbacks from Kuwaiti suppliers. Kinda makes you wonder who Cheney really works for? Commentary Cartoon: One reason why Governor Dean is so angry. Casualty Reports Local story: Massachusetts soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Texas soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Indiana soldier wounded in Iraq. Local story: Two Utah soldiers wounded in Iraq.

War News for January 22, 2004 Bring ‘em on: Two Iraqi policemen killed in attack on police station Fallujah. Bring ‘em on: Two US soldiers killed, one wounded in mortar attack near Baquba. Bring ‘em on: Four Iraqi civilians working for US forces killed in ambush near Fallujah. Bring ‘em on: Spanish police commander wounded in assassination attempt in Diwaniya. Bring ‘em on: Iraqi civilian killed by roadside bomb near Kirkuk. South Africa firm withdraws from Iraqi reconstruction. “Mechem managing director Braam Rossouw said on Wednesday that while ‘landmines will be a problem for a long time to come’, the company decided not to renew its contract after the war ‘because it is currently too dangerous in the country and because of the politically unstable situation.’” Free market competition in Iraq. “Rival tribes are at loggerheads to secure lucrative contracts for defending a key oil pipeline in northern Iraq, seen as economic salvation in a country where jobs are few and far between.” CIA report says Iraq is heading toward civil war. “Yesterday's warning starkly contradicts the upbeat assessment given by President George W. Bush in his State of the Union address earlier this week.” Report from Planet Cheney. “Cheney also said that he’s confident that there was a relationship between al-Qaida and ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. The Bush administration, however, has said in the past that there is no evidence that Saddam was behind the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.” Commentary Opinion: Lieutenant AWOL’s patriotic rhetoric. “Weapons of mass destruction-related program activities? Well, no wonder we couldn't wait for the weapons inspectors to do their job. No wonder hundreds of Americans had to lose their lives. It is just like the Bush administration has said from day one: Saddam was harboring weapons of mass destruction -related program activities, and we cannot allow related program activities to fall into the wrong hands...Bush also threatened to put a heterosexual-only definition of marriage in the Constitution. This is a historic idea, since it would be the first time something was added to the Constitution in order to advance discrimination rather than stop it.” Casualty Reports Local story: Washington State soldier wounded in Iraq. Local story: Texas soldier killed in Iraq.

War News for January 21, 2004 Bring ‘em on: Three US soldiers wounded by roadside bomb in Mosul. Bring ‘em on: Iraqi policeman killed in attack in Mosul. Bring ‘em on: Iraqi cabinet minister survives assassination attempt in Karbala. Bring ‘em on: Rocket attack on Rashid Hotel in Baghdad wounds one US soldier. Bring ‘em on: Attempted assassination of city councilman in Kirkuk leaves two Iraqi guards wounded. Iraqi police major killed by guards from British private security company in Kirkuk. Kurds turning against US in northern Iraq. “There are the seeds here for a savage ethnic conflict. The Arabs and Turkomans in Kirkuk are frightened. Many of the Arab settlers have been there for more than a generation and it is not clear where they would go. The last year has seen a number of small-scale but bloody clashes.” Election protests reported in Baghdad, Basra, Najaf and Karbala. Election protests reported in Samawa. Operation Lieutenant AWOL Cuts and Runs. “A shift in plans for elections follows a series of abrupt policy changes made by the coalition over the last few months, mainly forced by events on the ground, and will add to the sense of disarray in the CPA.” Iraqis want Saddam’s former US supporters put on trial. I think they're talking about you, Dick Cheney and Don Rumsfeld. Some want to prosecute WaPo, too. “In the lead-up to this year's U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq, The Washington Post's op-ed page beat the drum for war as loudly as any daily U.S. newspaper. It published editorials on a weekly basis promoting a military assault on Iraq. At the same time, it published on a daily basis the gung-ho columns of such rightwing and neoconservative luminaries as Charles Krauthammer, David Ignatius, George Will, Jim Hoagland and Michael Kelly (who was killed earlier this year [2003] while in bed with the U.S. military in Iraq).” Post-war veterans’ suicides not reported. “A soldier who served in Iraq apparently hung himself with a bedsheet last week at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, but the Pentagon did not count that death two days later when it announced "a very small increase" in the suicide rate from Operation Iraqi Freedom.” Protestors read names of soldiers killed in Bush’s War during State of the Union address. “As the nation's political leaders applauded the president in the Capitol, more than 300 people cocooned in hats, blankets and heavy jackets against the 24-degree weather joined to read the names of those killed since the invasion of Iraq began.” Yeah, but Lieutenant AWOL says Saddam was found hiding in a spider hole! Bush’s War on Terror fails to stop terrorist financing. “Many of the financial investigators are scanning bank records around the world for transactions that may look fishy, but some say that may not be the best way to fight this flank in the "war on terror". Experts say that the bulk of the terrorists' financial moves are made in cash through runners, smugglers and underground markets. Now, new questions are being asked in the US Senate Finance Committee, if the Bush administration's efforts to stem the tide of terrorist finances are actually working.” From the "Help is on the Way" Files Bush’s War is breaking the US military. “Buried within this huge rotation is one deployment that has quietly alarmed some military experts. Some 8,000 troops from the two Hawaii-based brigades of the 25th Infantry Division, the famed Tropic Lightning Division, are being sent to Iraq and Afghanistan. These troops are the cavalry for the Pacific Command -- they are the men and women who are designated to rush first into battle in case of a war in Korea.” Retention crisis in the Army Reserve and National Guard. "The head of the Army Reserve said yesterday that the 205,000-soldier force must guard against a potential crisis in its ability to retain troops, saying serious problems are being "masked" temporarily because reservists are barred from leaving the military while their units are mobilized in Iraq." A patriotic Army officer sounds off. "Lt. Gen. John M. Riggs, a decorated Vietnam veteran who is in charge of building an Army for the future, said the force of 480,000 must grow even beyond the 10,000-soldier increase that was endorsed by the Senate last year but failed to win full congressional approval...The three-star general said he came to his conclusion over the past year while studying the Pentagon's military strategy requirements, which call for assisting in homeland security, deterring potential foes, engaging in major combat and carrying out peacekeeping operations...Rumsfeld and Gen. Peter Schoomaker, the Army's chief of staff, have repeatedly told lawmakers that such increases are not necessary now, contending they would be costly and time-consuming. Instead, both are working on a variety of plans to reduce the stress on the Army. One would shift thousands of soldiers performing essentially civilian jobs - such as food services or accounting - and return them to military tasks. Rumsfeld and his aides have become well known within the military for dealing harshly with dissenters. Last year, he fired Army Secretary Thomas E. White, who had been at odds with him over modernizing weapons systems. When Gen. Eric Shinseki, then Army chief of staff, told a Senate hearing last February that it would take "several hundred thousand" U.S. troops to occupy Iraq, he was quickly slapped down by Rumsfeld, who called that estimate 'far from the mark.'" Emphasis added. This officer is a patriot and possesses brass balls. Casualty Reports Local story: Colorado soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Connecticut soldier injured in Iraq. State of The Union Reader Navy Wife sounds off: Dear President Bush, I chose not to listen to the SOTU last night, but read the transcript this morning. An interesting read, to say the least. It's nice to hear that you're proud of the military. And it's always nice to hear that you appreciate the sacrifice military families are making these days. And, it's good to know that you will spend the money to get the troops the resources needed to win the war. Forgive me if I don't believe you. I must see 2 or 3 Hummers driven around my town every day. But then I hear that troops in Iraq don't have the trucks they need to complete their missions. And I hear about parents scraping together $600 to purchase protective equiptment for their 21 year old Army Reservist child to protect them on their nightly rounds through the Sunni Triange. Maybe if we weren't subsidizing Cheney's pals at Halliburton, we really could give our troops whatever they need to win the war. Would it have been so hard for you to really mention last night the true price being paid by this country to defeat terrorism and win the war? We've lost 100 people in Afghanistan and over 500 in Iraq. And that's just the dead. There are thousands of wounded, both physically and mentally. We have hundreds of young men and women who went to war with 4 limbs and now have only 2 or 3. Showing your support for the troops and their families should be more than flying onto an aircraft carrier or taking a midnight ride to Baghdad. It's been almost a year since you proposed the GWOT medals for people who served in the war. Demand that the Pentagon finalize the criteria for those awards and get them to the troops today. Stop any investigation into the closing of DoD schools right now. Tell Congress to find the money for R&R trips home, so that soldiers have a completely free ride from Baghdad to Mom's house. And tell Karl Rove that the next time a flight comes into Dover Airport that you plan to be there, and that you want all of the networks to provide a cameraman to welcome those fallen countrymen and women home for the last time. Don't spend your days finding new tax cuts for millionaires. Investigating steroid use in major league sports can wait. Billions for marriage training can be spent in better places, namely Afghanistan and Iraq. Win the battles we have now: defeat the Taliban, find Osama, win the battle against the insurgents in Iraq, get rid of arbitrary deadlines in the push for Iraqi democracy and spend the time needed to get it right. Good luck. It's going to be a long, hard slog, a decades long fight. I'll be sending my husband off to the battle again in a few months and here's hoping that you'll have a real plan for success by then. Navy Wife I was busy scribbling a rant about Lieutenant AWOL's State of the Union address when I checked the Reader Comments. Navy Wife said everything I wanted to say better. So I'll just post Yankeedoodle's Short Synopsis of Lieutenant AWOL's SOTU: "I have nothing to offer but blood, fear, hate, and deficits. But my buddies get a tax cut."

War News for January 20, 2004 Draft Bring ‘em on: Two Iraqi police killed, one wounded in attack at checkpoint near Balad. CPA announces sudden plan to create 50,000 new jobs in Iraq. “The US-led coalition unveiled a series of multi-billion-dollar reconstruction schemes yesterday to create 50,000 jobs across war-battered Iraq in the wake of violent demonstrations by the country's disaffected unemployed.” Now you know how to get Bremer's attention. A murder in Baghdad. Analysis: Bush’s lies on WMD now affecting US credibility abroad according to experts in both parties. “‘The foreign policy blow-back is pretty serious,’ said Kenneth Adelman, a member of the Pentagon's Defense Advisory Board and a supporter of the war. He said the gaps between the administration's rhetoric and the postwar findings threaten Bush's doctrine of ‘preemption…’ Already, in the crisis over North Korea's nuclear ambitions, China has rejected US intelligence that North Korea has a secret program to enrich uranium for use in weapons. China has a key role in resolving the North Korean standoff, but its refusal to embrace the US intelligence has disappointed American officials and could complicate negotiations to eliminate North Korea's weapons programs.” Moqtada Sadr urges Iraqi Shi'ites to oppose US transition plans. Demonstrations continue in Baghdad. Canadian NGO releases report on Iraqi detainees. US troops begin new counter-insurgency campaign in Baghdad. Commentary Editorial: Bush is a divider, not a uniter. “The divisions he has sown extend abroad. The United States is more reviled than it has been since the Vietnam War. He has burnt many of the country's longest-standing, most reliable bridges, including those with Europe. The alliances that remain, with Britain, for example, have only shallow foundations in public opinion. On top of all this, Bush has done nothing to reduce U.S. standing as the world's No. 1 polluter, arrogantly shunning international efforts against global warming.” Opinion: How are things going in Iraq? “The worst may be yet to come. Each of the main stakeholders in Iraq's future -- the Shiite Muslims, the Sunni Muslims and the Kurds -- has been battling to lock in its own gains, at the expense of the nation as a whole. Even senior U.S. officials talk about the danger that Iraq may be slipping toward civil war.” Opinion: Legitimacy and lack thereof. “From the start, the Pentagon planners (or non-planners) believed the United States would have no legitimacy problems in Iraq. ‘We will be greeted as liberators,’ Vice President Cheney famously predicted. When urged after the war to transfer some authority to the United Nations to gain legitimacy, administration officials were dismissive in public and scathing in private. ‘We have far more legitimacy than the U.N.,’ one senior official told me last June. To discredit the idea of internationalization, Defense Department officials kept insisting that their goal was to transfer power not to the United Nations but to the Iraqis. ‘No foreigners can be in charge of [determining how elections will be held],’ Paul Wolfowitz said.” Opinion: Bush’s State of Disunion. “In his State of the Union address tonight, President Bush will speak of the nightmare he has created in Iraq as if it is a dream come true. Yet the contrary facts of the American misadventure have begun to speak for themselves. When the awful story of the Iraq war is written, the two weeks just past may be recognized as a time when the deception and disarray of Bush's policy were made more clear than ever.” Opinion: The neo-con dream becomes a nightmare. “If the Bush administration is beginning to realise that not all in the garden is rosy when it comes to Iraq, neo-con ideologues Richard Perle and David Frum, joint authors of a book entitled An End to Evil: How to win the war on terror, are undeterred. In this hate-filled tone, the two former members of the Bush administration urge the US government to reject the jurisdiction of the UN Charter, subject Muslims to special scrutiny by US law enforcement, and force European countries to choose between Paris - considered an enemy - and Washington.” Editorial: The Bushies don’t understand the consequences of their own policies. “If Bush is rushing the date for turnover so he can claim victory in time for the November elections, chaos could well follow -- with or without United Nations help. The administration must proceed with extreme caution, listen with urgency to all of Iraq's factions, and find a compromise. Otherwise, the political situation could deteriorate into violence. If that happens, many more American soldiers will die.” Casualty Reports Local story: Texas soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Idaho Marine wounded in Iraq. Local story: Minnesota soldier wounded in Iraq.

It's Tinfoil Hat Time! You tell me how bad this story stinks. I once took a course on the Lebanese civil war back in the late 1980's so I’ve got a little background on the subject. While I’ve followed the news there I’m hardly an expert. All I can really say is this story really reeks unless you still believe in the Tooth Fairy. Here’s the thumbnail of the story so far: Twelve million dollars worth of new Iraqi dinars (in cash) were seized by the authorities in Beirut along with three Lebanese businessmen, a pilot and a small airplane. The businessmen claim the cash came from the IGC and it was intended for purchases of security equipment. The IGC Interior Minister says the story is true, admits the money is theirs and says they want it back. The Lebanese basically told the IGC to piss up a rope. From the New York Times: “One of the men detained in Lebanon, Muhammad Issam Abu Darwish, the scion of a prominent Shiite family from southern Lebanon, told investigators that the money had come from the American-led Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad and was intended to buy armored cars. Mr. Darwish went to Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein and opened a private security company, the journalists said the prosecutor's office had told them. -snip- The impounded plane was piloted by Mazen Bsat, a prominent Beirut businessman who owns a chain of pharmacies and a company that leases planes for charter flights. With him was Mr. Darwish and Richard Jreissati, who held the portfolio for foreign affairs of the Christian right-wing Lebanese Forces Militia during the country's civil war...” Another news story with a few details the NYT left out: “The three Lebanese citizens who were onboard and were arrested are: Richard Juraysati; head of external affairs department in the dissolved Lebanese militia forces; Michel Mukataf, son-in-law of the former Lebanese president Amin al-Jumayyil; and Muhammad Abu-Darwish. While waiting for the results of the interrogation, Lebanese sources say that it is unlikely that this is a pure banking transaction due to identity of the persons involved in the case and their political affiliations. This is especially true since the money was transferred from Iraq, which is in US control, by plane to Jordan and then to Beirut airport. This raises a lot of questions regarding the role of the US forces in smuggling this money and the goal behind it. [end recording] “ An Internet reference to Richard Jreissati, his friends, background and what he’s doing these days: An Internet reference to Mazen Bsat and his charter airplane business: Some information from August 2002 on right-wing Lebanese Christian groups, their ties to American neo-cons like Richard Perle and Daniel Pipes and the Syria Accountability Act. “The system experienced a second major jolt in June, when Maronite figures in Los Angeles gathered for a Maronite World Congress. The gathering's resolutions called for a Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon, but did not stop there. Participants also voted to support the Syria Accountability Act, legislation proposed in the US Congress that would authorize a range of sanctions against Syria if the White House could not prove that Syria does not support Hizballah, import Iraqi oil, develop weapons of mass destruction or keep troops in Lebanon. The Act is also supported by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and the US Committee for a Free Lebanon, whose Golden Circle of "core supporters" includes former Defense Department official Richard Perle, former ambassador to the UN Jeane Kirkpatrick and pro-Israel commentator Daniel Pipes, among several others.” Some information on the Syria Accountability Act from the same source. Finally some background on the relationship between Ariel Sharon, Bashir Gemayal and the Lebanese Falangists back in the early 80's from Abu Aardvark’s blog: “Sharon's desire to crush the PLO dovetailed with the ambitions of Bashir Gemayal and the Phalange, a right wing (near fascist) Maronite Christian militia, to establish their hegemony over Lebanon. The expectation was that Gemayel would be installed as a pro-Israeli, pro-Western President who would align Lebanon accordingly. Sharon also expected the Shia to welcome the IDF as liberators, not conquerers, based on their clear and very real hatred for the Palestinians (which they did, initially - not with hugs and puppies, but with tacit acceptance... until the Israeli presence proved too oppressive and Hizbollah rose up to seize the mantle of resistance).” Scroll down to the November 5th entry. Amin Gemayal is the brother of Bashir Gemayal assassinated by a car bomb in 1982, some say by the PLO. His assassination sparked the massacres of Palestinians at Sabra and Shatilla refugee camps. Michel Mukataf is Amin’s son-in-law. Richard Juraysati is deputy president of the political council of the Lebanese Forces, a right-wing Lebanese Christian political party opposed to Syria and former foreign policy advisor to Samir Geagea. Geagea was head of LF until the Syrians locked him in jail in 1994 for crimes committed during the civil war, where he remains today. Both Mukataf and Juraysati were on that airplane with all that money from the IGC. Nobody flies around in a twin-engine Piper with $12 million in cash unless they’re corporate crooks heading to the Caymen Islands, running drugs, or funding a clandestine intelligence operation. I’d bet an enterprising journalist could find out what these guys were doing with all that money.

War News for January 19, 2004 Bring ‘em on: Bomb wounds thirteen near Shi’ite shrine in Karbala. Bring ‘em on: US soldier dies from wounds received in previously unreported bomb attack in Samarra on Friday. Bring ‘em on: Firefight during raid in Baghdad. Up to 100,000 Iraqis demonstrate in Baghdad demanding direct elections. The Curious Case of the Smuggled Dinars gets even smellier. “An informed source was cited as saying that it was almost certain that the money intercepted by the Lebanese authorities was ‘black money’ sent by the Iraq-based Americans ‘not just for the purpose of laundering it, but in order to be used by some local (Lebanese) politicians in order to destabilize the situation in Lebanon.’” It’s starting to look like the CPA is deliberately fudging the numbers on civilian casualties in Iraq. Detainees in Iraq. “They put me in solitary confinement. I wanted somebody to interrogate me and there wasn't anybody,” said Ahmad Dulaimi, who says he spent four weeks in jail after a raid that netted 25 men in the restive town of Falluja, west of Baghdad. “Most of the inmates don't know why they are imprisoned.” Iraqi Trade Fair in Virginia. “The reconstruction of Iraq has emerged as a vast protectionist racket, a neo-con New Deal that transfers limitless public funds - in contracts, loans and insurance - to private firms, and even gets rid of the foreign competition to boot, under the guise of "national security". Ironically, these firms are being handed this corporate welfare so they can take full advantage of CPA-imposed laws that systematically strip Iraqi industry of all its protections, from import tariffs to limits on foreign ownership.” Sectarian violence in Iraq. US troops on campus at Baghdad University. “This week’s series of guest lectures from the U.S. Military Academy turned out to be another example of what the Army considers its good works being misunderstood by those living under its occupation.” Remember all those rosy pre-war Bush promises that Iraqi oil revenues would pay for reconstruction? “The President's Office of Management and Budget told Congress last week that oil revenues from Iraq last year were US$3.9 billion and were projected to reach US$13 billion this year, not even enough to cover the Iraqi government's operating costs for this year, which are forecast to reach US$15.6 billion.” Of course, this is exactly what the experts at the State Department’s “Future of Iraq” assessment team predicted, but since those predictions were contrary to neo-conservative ideology the report was ridiculed and disregarded by the bunglers at Team Bush. Commentary Opinion: Bremer has become Iraq’s bankruptcy trustee. “Bremer’s bankrupt Iraq has three main political creditors: the Shiites, the Kurds and the Sunnis. If any one of them presses for unilateral advantage ­ threatens to “call their loans,” so to speak ­ the fragile structure of the new Iraq might crumble. As in a bankruptcy, the creditors can only achieve their goals if they patiently forbear and let the trustee do his job of putting the enterprise back together.” Opinion: Why Bush is afraid of elections in Iraq. “Annan should resist the poisoned chalice. He should support the concept of direct elections. It need not mean a delay in sovereignty for Iraq. Five months are not too long to prepare a vote. Alternatively, the UN should offer to take over responsibility for the entire transition to Iraqi rule, as many member governments originally hoped. Washington's plan for a transfer of power is a facade. The real intent is to get Bush re-elected and continue the occupation by indirect means. The UN should have no part of it.” Opinion: Former CIA officer sounds off on Bush’s serial lying. “Why not ask Scowcroft to lead an inquiry into which government officials and members of Congress were briefed on the full story provided by Kamel, and when? With 500 of our sons and daughters already killed in Iraq, we are due no less.” Casualty Reports Local story: Florida soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Texas soldier killed in Iraq. Another Note To Readers I wanted to thank everybody for all the support you've expressed in the Comments section. This blog evolved from a summary of the daily war news that I started posting on the Bartcop Forum last year when it became clear that Lieutenant AWOL intended to pursue his vanity war in Iraq. As I watched the US press coverage of the run-up to the war, I realized that the American media is incapable of following a story beyond a 24-hour news cycle, and they will only cover a story if there is dramatic film footage. As a result, the media only covers specific events in a selective fashion. They don't cover patterns. Eventually, I realized that posting a daily summary on a forum wasn't a very good approach so I decided the best place for this stuff was on a consolidated website giving a chronological history of events. At first, I fooled around trying to develop a mission statement so I could focus my objectives and methods (mostly because that's how I approach most projects) but I soon discarded that approach. The purpose of this site is to cover all the stories from Iraq that don't get covered in the US media and to show a pattern of events. I've only got two rules. (1) Every soldier killed or wounded gets a specific entry that gives his or her name and something about their lives. When I do my daily news searches, I look for those stories first. (2) Every attack on a US soldier, Iraqi policeman, car bombing, or other act of insurgency gets preceded with "Bring 'em on" in memory of the belligerent fool who invited those attacks. I'm especially flattered by the reviews of this site some of you posted on your own sites. Thanks. As the 2004 elections approach George W. Bush is doing his best to sweep this war, its casualties and consequences under the rug. All the evidence strong suggests that the only reason we went to war was because Karl Rove made a political calculation that Iraq was low-hanging fruit and a victorious little war would help his pet monkey win an election. I don't intend to let Bush duck the consequences of his folly. And I'm grateful for the offers of financial help, but the fact of the matter is that this site is free and the only thing this costs me personally is time and effort. But if you're determined to part with some of your money, here's what I suggest: Give it to the Democratic candidate you think most likely to beat Bush. A lot of other bloggers think he's going to be easy to beat but I'm not so sanguine. He's got a quarter of a billion dollars to spend, he's got a superb slime machine and the media is more concerned with Wacko Jacko than they are with elections. Personally, my money is on Clark because I think he's the guy who can beat Lieutenant AWOL like Gene Krupa could beat a drum. A lot of people from outside the US read this site. I want to apologize to you. I am truly sorry that you have to deal with George W. Bush. I'm going to do my best to ensure that it won't happen again. By the way, according to the site meter sometime early Sunday morning this site received its 100,000th visit. I don't know what that means since I have no basis for comparison to other blog traffic, except that "Today in Iraq" has received 100,000 visits since June.

War News for January 18, 2004 Bring 'em on: British troops ambushed by roadside bomb in Basra. Bring 'em on: Car bomb kills 23, wounds 95 at CPA headquarters in Baghdad. Bring 'em on: Car bomb targeting US patrol in Tikrit kills two Iraqis. Bring 'em on: Explosion in Basra kills two Iraqis, wounds two British soldiers. Bring 'em on: Honduran troops mortared in barracks near Najaf. CENTCOM reports on US soldier died from "non-hostile gunshot wounds" in an incident near Ad Diwaniyah. Iraqi Resistance Report, January 15 - 17, 2004. Six hundred Iraqi police killed in Bush's War. "'We have worked out that nearly 600 police officers have been killed since the end of the (March-April 2003) war,' Moshtaq Fadhel, commander of Iraq's police academy, told reporters." Iraqi Sunnis seethe at CPA policies. Analysis: After regime change in Iraq, Bush Middle East policy is hopelessly adrift. Another former CIA officer blasts Lieutenant AWOL. "The war on terrorism has gone awry, Steele said. 'I am a moderate Republican who believes the party has been hijacked,' he said. 'We have been lied to, we have been misled. Iraq was a wrong turn.' Iraq had nothing to do with 9-11, and for a tenth of the approximately $400 billion the United States has spent on the war in Iraq, it could have caught Osama bin Laden, he said. 'We're pretending to be at war with terrorism, but what this is really about is electing George Bush on an Iraq plank.'" Some background on Ayatollah Sistani. If you ever thought those neo-cons who planned (for want of a better word) Bush's War are loons, read this enlightening anecdote from the Soviet-Afghan War. Now I realize why General Zinni called these clowns a bunch of amateurs who "never had an idea that worked." Lebanon refuses to return seized dinars. This story sure smells funny. Congressmen ask Rummy to extend soldiers' R&R reimbursements. Rail service in Iraq. Only the CPA could make AMTRAK look good. Army after-action review finds insurgent skills, tactics improving. More from a newspaper email interview with Major General Eaton. Eyewitness account of attempted bomb ambush in Tikrit. US arrests, releases two Iranian journalists in Baghdad. Commentary Opinion: Army stretched too thin to be an effective counter-insurgency force in Iraq. "To win Iraqis' cooperation, Mr. Korb said, troops must build a rapport with them. New units must climb the learning curve all over again. Maj. Gen. David Petraeus, commander of the 101st Airborne, told Newsweek last month, 'You don't defeat an insurgency solely with military forces…you win by getting the people to believe they have a stake in the success of the new Iraq.'" Opinion: Farce to Tragedy. "If the Republicans pursue an ideological campaign and win, the world will change in highly combustible ways. It is one thing for an American administration to depart from traditional policies under stress and for a limited time, but it would be quite another for a president to win an election with a mandate to make that departure permanent." Editorial: Self-delusional Iraq policy. "L. Paul Bremer III, the U.S. chief in Iraq, insists that there's no way Iraq could be ready for elections this year, and considering that the country is emerging from a history of totalitarian rule, it's a reasonable point. But devising an arcane and incomprehensible system of caucuses to pick delegates to an assembly - which is the current plan - and then calling it representative government smacks of self-delusion. We call it self-delusion because no one else - most of all the Iraqis - will be fooled into thinking that this isn't Washington's way of cooking up the kind of government it wants." Opinion: A Dishonest War. "The most fundamental decision a president ever makes is the decision to go to war. President Bush violated the trust that must exist between government and the people. If Congress and the American people had known the truth, America would never have gone to war in Iraq. No president who does that to our country deserves to be reelected." Casualty Reports Local story: Texas soldier killed in Iraq.

War News for January 17, 2004 Bring 'em on: Three US soldiers and two Iraqi CDC soldiers killed, two wounded in bomb ambush near Taji. Bring 'em on: Rockets fired at US base near Kirkuk. Bring 'em on: Three Iraqi civilians killed by mine near Tikrit. Bring 'em on: Two Iraqi insurgents killed after attack on US troops at frontier post in Al-Anbar province. Bring 'em on: Aircraft carrying Georgia's defense minister receives ground fire at Baghdad airport. Bring 'em on: One Iraqi killed, five wounded by bomb in Baghdad. Bring 'em on: Three Iraqi civilians wounded in RPG attack on US troops in Fallujah. Bring 'em on: US patrol under fire in Samarra. (Last paragraph). Bring 'em on: Power lines destroyed by sabotage; Kirkuk without electricity. Bring 'em on: Two Iraqi policemen wounded in attack in Mosul. Tens of thousands demonstrate against US transition plan in Basra. Fashion maven L. Paul Bremer plays down Iraqi resistance to transition plan; Sistani threatens general strike over issue. Aide to Iraq cleric says new transition plan is a "'hasty agreement' aimed at boosting President George W. Bush's re-election campaign." Former UN envoy says return to Iraq would be a "terrible mistake." "'The U.N. should not be in Iraq lest it would give legal respectability to the invasion and occupation of the oil-rich Arab country, or further promote the impression that it has collaborated against the Iraqi people,' Halliday told IslamOnline.net in an exclusive interview." News Analysis: "When The Ayatollah Speaks, Bush Listens." (Actually, Lieutenant AWOL craps his britches.) "'The problem with the June 30 plan is that Bush and his advisers set in train a plan designed above all to get them through the U.S. election campaign but without a coherent set of processes for what happens after that,'' said political scientist Robert Pape at the University of Chicago." And that, folks, is the most succinct analysis of Operation Cut and Run anybody has offered yet. Turkish general says ethnic-based federation in Iraq would be "bloody." US Army establishes "oil police." Analysis: What went wrong in Iraq. (More appropriately titled, "How Lieutenant AWOL and his Gang of Bungling Ideologues Screwed the Pooch After the Army Won the War.") Insightful article by Wesley Clark originally published in September 2003 explaining how a military victory so quickly turned all soft and warm and brown and smelly. In PDF format. US Army reduces patrols, closes garrisons during troop rotation. Halliburton bags another deal. Ethnic tensions remain a problem in Iraq. "'Whatever Iraqi government emerges before the U.S. leaves, is almost certain to be inherently unstable,' wrote Anthony Cordesman, a security strategist at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, in a recent assessment. 'It will not have solved the religious sectarian and ethnic tensions in Iraq - which are growing as the conflicts and power struggles between Sunni and Shiite become more serious.'" General Clark says Congress should investigate Lieutenant AWOL's rush to war. "Asked if misleading the nation in going to war would be criminal, Clark told reporters, 'I think that's a question Congress needs to ask. I think this Congress needs to investigate precisely' how the United States wound up in a war 'that wasn't connected to the threat of al-Qaida.'" Fat chance with a Congress that won't even investigate Halliburton. Commentary Editorial: In Search of Rescue. "With its strategy for Iraq on the verge of unraveling, the Bush administration has belatedly embraced an idea it should have accepted long ago: that a political transition conducted by the United Nations is more likely to be accepted by Iraqis than one imposed unilaterally by the United States. On Monday U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer and the head of the Iraqi Governing Council will meet with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan to ask for stronger U.N. backing for the U.S. plan to turn over sovereignty in June to an Iraqi government chosen through regional caucuses…But it may be too late for the U.N. bailout the Bush administration now appears to seek. Mr. Annan is reluctant to put his organization at the service of a predetermined U.S. strategy, and one letter from the secretary general has already failed to change the mind of Mr. Sistani." Casualty Reports Local story: California soldier dies in Iraq. Note to Readers I didn't post for the last two days. Frankly, I just needed a break from the news in Iraq. When I started this project I didn't realize how damn depressing this would be. In the future, I may have to post some kind of schedule.

War News for January 14, 2004 Draft Bring ‘em on: Car bomb kills two civilians, wounds 14 Iraqi policemen in Baquba. Bring ‘em on: ICDC soldier killed in firefight near Tikrit. Bring 'em on: Eight Iraqis reported killed in firefight with US troops in Samarra. Bring ‘em on: Iraqi policeman killed in attack on police checkpoint in Ramadi. (Last Paragraph.) Bring ‘em on: US military administrators attacked during meeting with local leaders in Kirkuk. CENTCOM reports one US soldier died in a "non-hostile incident" in Mosul. US troops arrest family members of Iraqi fugitive. India abandons plan to establish military hospital in Najaf. “Well-placed Government officials attribute the decision to the lack of confidence in the security situation in Iraq.” Bremer’s CPA concocts a recipe for continued unrest. Tribal leader in Tikrit warns US raids inflame tensions. Another Bush lie exposed. “The document provides a second piece of evidence challenging the Bush administration contention of close cooperation between Hussein's regime and al Qaeda terrorists. CIA interrogators already have elicited from the top al Qaeda officials in custody that, before the U.S.-led invasion, Osama bin Laden had rejected entreaties from some of his lieutenants to work with Hussein.” Commentary Opinion: O’Neill snatched the covers off Lieutenant AWOL. “In a move that some think was designed to intimidate, the Treasury Department has announced that it will investigate whether O'Neill broke the law by taking and then releasing classified documents to Ron Suskind, author of the book about the former Cabinet member.” Number of days before DOJ initiated an investigation after Robert Novak blew the cover of a CIA agent: 74. Number of days before Treasury initiated an investigation of O’Neill: One. “Nuff said. Casualty Reports Local story: Georgia soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Minnesota soldier wounded in Iraq. Local story: Oregon soldier wounded in Iraq.

War News for January 13, 2004 Bring ‘em on: Central Baghdad mortared, more explosions reported. Bring ‘em on: Iraqis riot in Kut over food and jobs. One coalition soldier and two Iraqi policemen injured. Bring ‘em on: Anti-American demonstrations reported in Fallujah, apparently caused by this incident of hostage-taking. Bring 'em on: US troops under RPG fire in central Fallujah. Four Iraqi civilians killed after US troops open fire. Bring ‘em on: Three Iraqi policemen killed in two ambushes in Mosul. Bring 'em on: US Apache helicopter shot down near Habbaniya. Goodwill of Iraqi Shi’ites towards US eroding. “But the relatively slow pace of reconstruction, soaring unemployment, fuel shortages, inadequate services and widespread charges of corruption have steadily eaten into that good will. Al-Sistani's warnings that more violence could beset Iraq if elections are not held may feed the rising frustration.” Iraqi Sunnis uniting for political leverage. Three years predicted before Iraqi electrical power is restored. Baghdad fashion maven and incompetent administrator L. Paul Bremer rules out compromise on Iraqi elections before he cuts and runs. Troops get their tours extended in Iraq. General Clark says Lieutenant AWOL was so obsessed with Iraq that he ignored warnings from Clinton administration about Osama bin Laden. Iraqis desperate for jobs. Human Rights Watch says US policies in Iraq may violate international law. Commentary Editorial: Iraq was a mistake and Bush is a liar. “Instead, the administration's case was based on two central pillars: Saddam possessed chemical and biological weapons in large quantities and was hot in pursuit of nuclear weapons; he also is closely tied in with Al-Qaida and other terrorist groups, to which he could at any time provide weapons of mass destruction for use against the United States or its friends. Neither of those assertions was true, and the administration had reason to know they weren't true. Indeed, according to a new book, former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill says that as early as January 2001 the Bush administration was talking about removing Saddam from power.” Editorial: Bush’s lies about Iraq are a legitimate issue for the 2004 campaign. “If WMDs and al-Qaida were not valid reasons for an American invasion, we must wonder whether bringing democracy and freedom to Iraq is the real justification for the American occupation. Or is this instead an exercise in projecting American military power into the heart of the oil-rich Middle East and closer to the borders of hostile states, including Syria and Iran? The American people should know, and we hope the election campaign will generate some answers.” Opinion: The Awful Truth. “People are saying terrible things about George Bush. They say that his officials weren't sincere about pledges to balance the budget. They say that the planning for an invasion of Iraq began seven months before 9/11, that there was never any good evidence that Iraq was a threat and that the war actually undermined the fight against terrorism.” Operation Cut and Run: Version 6.2 Team Bush "revises" Iraqi transition plan again. "Officials held a round of urgent meetings in Washington and Baghdad in the wake of the rejection on Sunday by a powerful Shiite religious leader, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, of the administration's complex plans to hold caucuses around the country to select an interim legislature and executive in a newly self-governing Iraq. Officials say they are responding to the cleric's objections with a new plan that will open the caucuses to more people and make their inner workings more transparent…The new hope in Washington, the officials said, was in effect to make the caucus system look more democratic without changing it in a fundamental way." Emphasis added. Casualty Reports Local story: Indiana soldier wounded in Iraq. Home Front Cheney raises cash for George "More Important Than A Couple of Dead Soldiers" Nethercutt in Portland, Oregon. "Oregon Republican officials said the event -- which carries a $1,000 admission charge, or $10,000 for those who want to have their picture taken with the vice president -- will attract at least 75 attendees."

War News for January 12, 2004 Bring 'em on: One US soldier killed, two wounded in Baghdad bomb ambush. Bring 'em on: US convoy ambushed by roadside bomb near Ramadi. Two Iraqis killed. US troops kill seven Iraqis stealing oil from pipeline near Samarra. Iraqi Resistance Report for the period January 8 – 11, 2004. Al-Sistani renews call for direct elections. “Grand Ayatollah Ali Husseini al-Sistani also demanded, in a statement issued by his office, that an elected assembly must ratify an interim constitution now being created by the U.S.-backed Iraqi Governing Council as well as proposed security agreements governing the continued presence of U.S. and other coalition troops in Iraq beyond July 1.” No wonder Bremer wants to get out of Dodge before July. Civilian shooting have increased 300 per cent since occupation began. “As I told you, we used to receive about 16 cases a month, but this figure went up dramatically, up to 520 cases in August. I'm talking about just Baghdad area, not the whole country.” Army War College study calls Bush’s War a “distraction.” “The report, by visiting professor Jeffrey Record, who is on the faculty of the Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., warns that as a result of those mistakes, the Army is ‘near the breaking point.’ It recommends, among other things, scaling back the scope of the "global war on terrorism" and instead focusing on the narrower threat posed by the al-Qaida terrorist network.” Japanese defense minister says its contingent in Iraq won’t help coalition troops under fire. For a real hoot, be sure to read the comments from the outraged American right-wing nutjobs following the article. O’Neill says Lieutenant AWOL was looking for an excuse to fight Saddam Hussein in January 2001. More on convoy duty in Iraq. Pentagon says 504 US troops have been killed in Iraq. Wait, now they say it’s only 495. Looks like they’re having trouble keeping track of their own lies. Report from Dover. Lieutenant AWOL’s War on America keeps the casualties hidden. Read the comments from the Heritage Foundation goon. If you only read one article today, read this one. "For Nagl, Vietnam stands as an encyclopedia of what shouldn't be done. Foremost in the do-not-repeat category are the indiscriminate use of firepower, the resort to conventional tactics to fight an unconventional threat and the failure to implement an effective 'hearts and minds' campaign… The civic chores are supposed to be shouldered by the American-dominated Coalition Provisional Authority, led by L. Paul Bremer III, but the C.P.A. remains isolated and rather inept at implementation...One morning, during breakfast at the battalion canteen, I asked Nagl about the Coalition Provisional Authority. He has yet to see a C.P.A. official at the base, he said. He pointed to an empty plastic chair at the table and asked: 'Where's the guy from C.P.A.? He should be sitting right there.' Given the weakness of the C.P.A., Nagl and other soldiers are effectively in charge not only of the military aspects of the counterinsurgency but also of reconstruction work and political development." Commentary Opinion: To My Republican Friends: “The ball is very much in your court this evening, guys. I make myself brief: Do you plan to continue supporting the President after Paul O'Neill's comments on 60 Minutes tonight, comments which I suspect many of you all saw?” Don't worry. Next, the Republicans will try to justify Bush's War by telling us Saddam Hussein was betting on baseball. Casualty Reports Local story: Kansas soldier wounded in Iraq. Local story: Missouri soldier wounded in Iraq. Local story: Pennsylvania soldier wounded in Iraq.

War News for January 11, 2004 Bring 'em on: British troops kill five Iraqi protesters in Amarah. Bring 'em on: Iraqis resist raids in Baquba. Bring 'em on: Attacks on US troops averaged 18 per day over last week. Bring 'em on: Iraqi-American CPA official assassinated in Basra. Bring 'em on: Protestors stone British troops as demonstrations continue in Amarah. Bring 'em on: Two Estonian soldiers wounded in grenade ambush in Baghdad. (Last Paragraph.) Bring 'em on: PUK offices in Mosul mortared. Bring 'em on: Two bombs explode in Kirkuk. (Second to last paragraph.) Non-combat casualties in Iraq cause alarm. Challenge for General Sanchez: Winning over wary Iraqis. Nice bio piece on General Sanchez. But winning the confidence of the Iraqis was L. Paul Bremer's mission and he failed miserably - although he remains the heart-throb of many neo-conservatives because he cuts such a dash in his combat boots and Gucci suit. Sectarian tensions rising in Iraq. Baghdad fashion maven and incompetent administrator L. Paul Bremer plans to leave his position in June. Although a June departure means Bremer won't be around to administer the July 1st transition plan, his departure is the best plan Bremer has ever had. Former cabinet officer reveals Bushies began scheming to attack Iraq in January 2001. "'From the very beginning, there was a conviction that Saddam Hussein was a bad person and that he needed to go,' O'Neill told the news program, according to excerpts released yesterday. 'For me, the notion of preemption, that the US has the unilateral right to do whatever we decide to do, is a really huge leap.'" The real scandal is that the Bushies planned this operation for two years, and they still screwed it up. Saudi newspaper says Saddam was actually captured in September 2003. Report from Fallujah. "Drinkwine leaves it to his battalion intelligence officer, Captain Gary Love, to fill in the picture. Love brings up a second map in which the city is sectored into areas of colour. Predominant is red. 'The red,' says Captain Love, 'is high threat. That is two-thirds of the city. I want you to notice that there is no green,' he says. 'There are no areas where the threat is low.'" Army begins relief-in-place in Iraq. "More than 240,000 soldiers and Marines are to move into and out of Iraq from now to May, testing the military's ability to handle a major logistical feat while battling the Iraqi insurgency. From remote camps in northern Iraq to the port here, this swapping of forces amounts to the U.S. military's largest troop rotation since World War II." Commentary Opinion: Bush lied to us about Iraq's threat. "As long as this powerful, false notion lives, the administration will continue to mislead and control a frightened, gullible public. Meanwhile, U.S. and coalition troops and civilians, on both sides, will continue to die in a war that was initiated by George W. Bush - who was going to war no matter what." Editorial: The Boy Who Cried Wolf. "There's still a chance -- growing slimmer by the day -- that American forces will find prohibited weapons. Anything found at this late date, though, would arouse suspicions of it's being planted by U.S. forces. That suspicion is just a part of the damage caused by the Bush administration's rush to invade. The inability to produce the weapons that the administration insisted that Saddam still possessed has seriously eroded American credibility with the rest of the world. The United States flouted world opinion to take pre-emptive action. The next threat to international security may be very real and require concerted action. But the United States would have an even harder time mustering support to act, now that it appears to have cried wolf in Iraq." Book Review: "American Dynasty: Aristocracy, Fortune and the Politics of Deceit in the House of Bush." "… there is certainly enough to suggest that the Bush dynasty's many decades of entanglement and money-hunting in the Middle East have created a major conflict of interest that deserves to be part of the 2004 political debate. No previous presidency has had anything remotely similar. Not one. " Opinion: Lieutenant AWOL's record speaks for itself. "While the U.S. has long held world respect, we now are at the lowest point in world opinion; through the eyes of the world we are no longer seen as defenders of human rights but as the military aggressor. After months of U.N. weapons inspections and being advised that no weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq, our administration insisted there were." Opinion: Turn off the TV. "Television becomes a tool of the Bush administration, which has been able to excuse every civil liberties violation, every attack on the environment and every budget busting deficit, not to mention the war in Iraq, on the continuing threat of terror." Casualty Reports Local story: Maryland soldier killed in Iraq. Home Front Report from Fort Carson, Colorado.