Today in Iraq

War News for November 30, 2004 Bring ‘em on: Four Iraqis killed, nineteen, including two US soldiers, wounded in car bombing north of Baghdad. In a separate attack, an insurgent fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a U.S. tank in Baiji, wounding one U.S. soldier. Bring ‘em on: Four Gurkha security guards killed, twelve wounded in rocket attack in Green Zone Bring ‘em on: Suicide bomber rams U.S. convoy on Baghdad's airport road, several casualties reported. Body count: "The mortuary staff cannot agree whether the present situation could be described as better or worse than that which existed under Saddam Hussein. In August 2002, ten suspicious deaths led to post-mortem examinations. In August 2003, post-Saddam, 518 murders were recorded in the city in a similar four-week period. But the staff also remember when hundreds of victims of mass execution were dumped by the Baathist authorities at the mortuary and relatives were too frightened to collect them. “Better or worse is irrelevant — they’re both bad,” Dr Hassan said. “And it could have been so easy for the Americans. Why did they disband the army and police last year and allow those weapons and munitions to pour into the hands of criminals in our streets? Why did they leave us for a year with no national army and police? I don’t know. Now we all suffer — them and us. Am I depressed? All the time.”" Iraqi Security Forces: "While Bush administration officials say that the training is progressing and that there have been instances in which the Iraqis have proved tactically useful and fought bravely, local American commanders and security officials say both Iraqi forces are riddled with problems. In the most violent provinces, they say, the Iraqis are so intimidated that many are reluctant to show up and do not tell their families where they work; they have yet to receive adequate training or weapons, present a danger to American troops they fight alongside, and are unreliable because of corruption, desertion or infiltration. Given the weak performance of Iraqi forces, any major withdrawal of American troops for at least a decade would invite chaos, a senior Interior Ministry official, whose name could not be used, said in an interview last week." Killings: "It is not clear what the killers'' objective is -- apart from to strike fear into the public and the fledgling security authorities ahead of elections at the end of January. By creating a climate of fear, the insurgents seem to hope Iraqis will be too scared to cast their votes and the election will lose its legitimacy. In that respect, the campaign of intimidation in Mosul may be a test case for the rest of Iraq. In all more than 50 bodies have been found since Nov. 15, mostly on the more violent western side of Mosul, which sits on the Tigris river 390 km north of Baghdad. Around two dozen have been identified as members of the Iraqi National Guard or Iraqi army, while others are believed to be civilians who may have worked with U.S. forces or for the U.S.-backed Iraqi authorities." Military Intelligence: "Quietly released Pentagon report contains major criticisms of administration: Late on the Wednesday afternoon before the Thanksgiving holiday, the US Defense Department released a report by the Defense Science Board that is highly critical of the administration's efforts in the war on terror and in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. 'Muslims do not hate our freedom, but rather they hate our policies [the report says]. The overwhelming majority voice their objections to what they see as one-sided support in favor of Israel and against Palestinian rights, and the long-standing, even increasing, support for what Muslims collectively see as tyrannies, most notably Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Pakistan and the Gulf states. Thus, when American public diplomacy talks about bringing democracy to Islamic societies, this is seen as no more than self-serving hypocrisy.'" "MSNBC notes that the report, in a comment that directly goes against statements made by President Bush and senior cabinet members, says the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have united otherwise-divided Muslim extremists and given terrorists organizations like Al Qaeda a boost by "raising their stature."" Shadow of Vietnam: "As marines aboard fast patrol boats roared up the Euphrates on a dawn raid on Sunday, images pressed in of another American war where troops moved up wide rivers on camouflaged boats, with machine-gunners nervously scanning riverbanks for the hidden enemy. That war is rarely mentioned among the American troops in Iraq, many of whom were not yet born when the last American combat units withdrew from Vietnam more than 30 years ago. A war that America did not win is considered a bad talisman among those men and women, who privately admit to fears that this war could be lost." Turkish truck drivers: "Turkish, American and Iraqi officials are to hold talks in Ankara Tuesday on ways to improve security for Turkish truck drivers working in Iraq. The meeting, called after increasing attacks against Turkish citizens employed in Iraq, especially in the transportation sector. More than 60 Turks, the majority of them truck drivers, have been killed in Iraq, both in ambushes or executed by militants after being kidnapped." The Human Cost Iraq health care 'in deep crisis': "Iraq's health system is in a far worse condition than before the war, a British medical charity says. Doctors from the group Medact conducted surveys with international aid groups and Iraqi health workers in September. They exposed poor sanitation in many hospitals, shortages of drugs and qualified staff and huge gaps in services for mothers and children. "The war is a continuing public health disaster that was predictable - and should have been preventable," the group says." PTSD and my Iraq Homecoming: "Time passes on. Most of the "we support our troops" signs have been taken down or are faded. Yellow ribbons have become faddish accessories to stick next to your George Bush sticker on your SUV. I'd like to say that I'm not angry anymore, but it would be a lie. I am deeply pissed off at over 50 million of my fellow countrymen, and despite what John Kerry says, I can't forgive and forget. I don't care about healing. I want a reckoning, and I want my party to deliver. Time has given me some distance from the war, but Iraq won't go away. I feel like I'm living with a knife at my throat. More and more of my friends and my soldiers get sent over there. A close friend got killed, and the funeral was tough. I began obsessing over Iraq and counter-insurgencies. I got involved in the election. I found DailyKOS, and I started posting. I jump all over anything that has to do with Iraq, and I worry about making an ass out of myself. But, I can't help it. I want my story told." Commentary Editorial: "In counterinsurgency warfare, winning battles while losing the war is even more common. The French won the Battle of Algiers but were ultimately worn out by Algerian nationalist guerrillas. In the Vietnam War, the 1968 Tet Offensive—the invasion of South Vietnam by the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong—resulted in a U.S. military victory and the end of the Viet Cong as an effective fighting force. Yet politically, the strong communist offensive belied the Johnson administration’s assertions that the United States was winning the war and ultimately led to a U.S. defeat, as U.S. public support for the conflict began draining away." Opinion: "It is also easy to personify small acts and assume them typical of the acts of all. We can grasp the individual act more easily than we can handle the institutional act; we can see the "face of evil" first-hand and pit ourselves against an actor on our own stage bill, not of the highest one. Sometimes these judgments are true, but very often they are not: Many times, these cases unfairly try the unrepresentative small fry while letting the big turkeys go And the still-nameless Marine in Fallujah? Perhaps I'm making excuses for him, but given the chaos of battle, it is not difficult to see how something like this could have happened. A man afraid, with terror all around him, a terrible decision he will remember and regret all his life! But -- would it not be more effective to put on trial Paul Wolfowitz, Douglas Feith, Richard Perle, Dick Cheney, Elliott Abrams and all the other fanatic intellectual couch potatoes who sent that Marine out to fight an impossible war?" Comment: "There is a long-standing British belief that we are more robust about war, and its human cost, than are Americans. Yet compare and contrast current national attitudes to what is happening in Iraq. A reverse image is apparent. The British people are very unhappy. Many Americans think everything is going fine. In short, many Americans, including most of those in the armed forces, think that they are doing a great job in the war zone, and are winning - a sharp contrast with the British mood towards Iraq, which grows ever more fractious and cynical. Every death provokes a spasm of anger, driven by disbelief in the value of the sacrifice." Casualty Reports Local Story: Tucson Marine is killed in Iraq Note to Readers: I’m stepping in for Yankeedoodle again while he takes a much deserved mental health break. Please be patient as I relearn my Blogger skillz. As before, I rely on all of you dedicated readers and posters to keep things current in the comments. Should you need to contact me, my email is: mmart@iname.com. If it looks like YD will be away for very long, I’ll post it on the Blog frame. But hopefully he’ll be back, fresh as a daisy, in a week or two.

Open Thread for Monday, November 29, 2004

Open Thread for Sunday, November 28, 2004

Note to Readers, Saturday, November 27, 2004 I'm going to take a few days off. I've been blogging this disaster in Iraq for 18 months now and it's starting to affect me. I don't know when I'll return, but I'll continue to post an open thread. Thanks, YD

Open Thread for Friday, November 26, 2004

War News for Monday, November 22, 2004 Bring ‘em on: Nine ING soldiers killed in patrol ambush in Ramadi. Bring ‘em on: Police chief and driver assassinated in Khalis. Bring ‘em on: Three Iraqis killed, six wounded in fighting near Samarra. Bring ‘em on: Sunni cleric assassinated in Mosul. Bring ‘em on: ING convoy ambushed near Latifiyah. Bring ‘em on: One ING soldier wounded in checkpoint attack near Tikrit. Elections. “Death threats have chased away four elections officials in Mosul, stalling preparations for the vote in the northern city. Insurgents have torched election materials and a militant group believed to operate in Mosul has warned Iraqis not to participate in the election. Iraq's third-largest city is already getting a taste of what many across this country fear may happen to Iraq's democratic transformation: insurgents using force and intimidation to try to hinder nationwide elections scheduled for Jan. 30.” More troops. “The officers said the exact number of extra troops needed is still being reviewed, but estimated it at the equivalent of several battalions, or about 3,000 to 5,000 soldiers. The number of U.S. troops in Iraq fell to barely 100,000 last spring before rising to 138,000, where it has stayed since the summer. To boost the current level, commanders have considered extending the stay of more troops due to rotate out shortly, or accelerating the deployment of the 3rd Infantry Division, which is scheduled to start in January. But a third option -- drawing all or part of a brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division on emergency standby in the United States -- has emerged as increasingly likely.” Latifiyah. “Police have become such targets that many switch their uniforms for civilian clothes before going home at night. National Guards don balaclavas with their uniforms and keep their jobs secret from neighbours for fear of reprisals. The Sunni Muslim area east of the Euphrates river is one of the most dangerous in the country for Iraqi security forces, with ambushes common. Insurgents who rule the streets there, having chased off local police, also exact revenge on Iraqis they suspect of working with U.S.-led forces or foreign firms.” Baghdad. “A U.S.-Iraqi raid on the Abu Hanifa mosque, one of Sunni Muslims' most revered sites, appeared to spawn a weekend of street battles, assassinations and a rash of bombings that changed Baghdad. The capital, for months a scene of unrelenting but sporadic violence, has taken on the look of a battlefield. The chaos has fanned sectarian tension and deepened Sunni distrust of interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, a Shiite installed by the Americans five months ago. It has also heightened the anxiety of the city's 6 million people, already worn down by years of sanctions and tyranny, then war, military occupation, crime and deprivation.” WTF? “Two foreign civilians, at least one of them British, have been arrested in Baghdad after a gunfight in which one of the Iraqi interior minister's bodyguards was killed, a senior police source has told Reuters.” Commentary Editorial: “American military commanders in Iraq should not have to choose between securing Falluja and driving the insurgents out of other strongholds. Both must be done if the elections are to have any chance of success. That will require sending those 20,000 to 40,000 additional troops right away. Because 20 months of occupation duty have left the Army so badly strained, reinforcement will require even greater reliance on reservists and divisions that have already served in Iraq. These desperate policies cannot continue much longer without a damaging toll on morale, readiness and recruitment. What is needed is a significant permanent increase in the regular Army, through recruitment, without a draft. But shifting more of the Pentagon's well-padded budget into manpower has few supporters in a Defense Department transfixed with faddish theories of quick war-fighting, outsourced peacekeeping and minimal ground forces. Iraqi civilians without jobs and clean water and American soldiers without relief and a clear strategy for winning the peace have been paying the price for those seductive theories long enough.” Editorial: “After the scandal over abuse at Abu Ghraib erupted, Mr. Gonzales tried to distance himself from the torture memo, though what is known indicates that he played a central role in its formulation. Like Mr. Bush and other senior officials, he has ignored the abundant evidence that the decision on the Geneva Conventions led directly to the abuse of detainees in Afghanistan and Iraq. His damaging and erroneous legal positions have been altered only in response to court rulings and then only grudgingly. Senators should ask Mr. Gonzales to explain his definition of torture and to say whether he believes captors in other nations could legally inflict pain short of organ failure on detained Americans. They should also ask why he chose to exclude or disregard the views of the uniformed military legal corps in his consideration of military commissions and the application of the Geneva Conventions. Above all, Mr. Gonzales should answer this question: Why is a lawyer whose opinions have produced such disastrous results for his government -- in their practical application, in their effect on U.S. international standing and in their repeated reversal by U.S. courts -- qualified to serve as attorney general?” Editorial: “Fallouja was thought to be the headquarters of militant leader Abu Musab Zarqawi; if so, he left before the Marines arrived. Zarqawi's followers continue to try to terrorize Iraqis into opposing the U.S. occupation by beheading natives and foreigners alike. Zarqawi was born in Jordan, but Marines said most of the fighters in Fallouja appeared to be Iraqi. That could be a hopeful sign that although the Iraq misadventure has inflamed Islamic opinion against Washington, few foreign fighters have wanted or been able to enter the country. But it also may mean Iraqis are sufficiently angered by the invasion to be willing to fight and die in large numbers without outside help.” Opinion: “The new Triangle, the Sunni Triangle, will be an equal butt-blaster. Yes, it can be temporarily secured, but until the Iraqi security forces are on their feet - which won’t be anytime soon - expect more than the occasional bloody reversal. And get ready for security to be mainly made-in-the-USA, meaning that our forces will probably be stuck in Iraq for a long, hot spell.” Opinion: “I won't judge those trash-talking Marines. I only hope they remember that bloody, defeated man they reduced to a corpse as something more than meaningless residue of battle. Or the battle itself is meaningless.” Casualty Reports Local story: Virginia Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: California Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: New York Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: California Marine killed in Iraq Local story: Arizona Marine dies from wounds received in Iraq. Note to Readers Due to my work schedule, I won't post an update tomorrow or Wednesday, but I'll post an open thread. I'll resume posting Thursday morning. Thanks, YD

War News for Sunday, November 21, 2004 Bring ‘em on: Oil wells sabotaged near Kirkuk. Bring ‘em on: Five US soldiers wounded in car bombing on Baghdad airport road. Bring ‘em on: Two US Marines killed, four wounded in ambush near Fallujah. Bring ‘em on: Nine Iraqis killed in heavy fighting near Ramadi. Bring ‘em on: Iraqi police general survives assassination attempt in Hilla. Bring ‘em on: Seven Iraqis killed by US fire in Ramadi. Bring ‘em on: Two ING soldiers wounded by roadside bomb near Samarra. Bring ‘em on: Fighting reported in Latifiyah after insurgents demolish bridge, power lines. Cheneyburton. “Halliburton Co. truck drivers Tim Bell and Bill Bradley disappeared April 9 when their convoy was attacked west of Baghdad. Did they die at the scene? Were they captured? Is there reason for hope? No one will say. Like those of many contractors caught in the violence of Iraq, their fates are shrouded in mystery. The Army has conducted an investigation into the ambush, but the report is classified. Pentagon officials refused to discuss its contents, directing questions to Halliburton. The company referred questions back to the Pentagon. ‘We have done everything in our power to find information and found that we are hitting a brick wall,’ Bradley's family wrote in an e-mail to the Houston Chronicle. ‘We are crushed.’” Progress report. “After the rate of acute malnutrition among children younger than 5 steadily declined to 4 percent two years ago, it shot up to 7.7 percent this year, according to a study conducted by Iraq's Health Ministry in cooperation with Norway's Institute for Applied International Studies and the U.N. Development Program. The new figure translates to roughly 400,000 Iraqi children suffering from ‘wasting,’ a condition characterized by chronic diarrhea and dangerous deficiencies of protein.” Migration. “’Iraq is my country, and I didn't want to leave,’ he added as he took his son for a haircut in one of the wealthy Amman neighborhoods favored by Jordan's new refugees. ‘If the situation gets better, I will go back, but I think it will get worse.’ In recent months, tens of thousands of Iraqis have made similar decisions, some spurred by the hazards of daily life in Iraq, some by their personal experiences of kidnapping or armed robbery, and others simply because they see no future in a country that seems to grow more violent with each passing day. Many of those who are leaving are taking with them the skills, the capital and the expertise that Iraq will need whenever the country becomes stable enough to start the still-stalled process of reconstruction.” Commentary Opinion: “Kerry's studiously confused position was not, or not just, a politician stratagem. It was an accurate reflection of the views of his constituency. Most of them deplore the war, but only a tiny fraction favor an immediate pullout. Anyone who opposes the war but isn't ready to demand peace needs to answer the question ‘Why on Earth not?’ There are answers, possibly even adequate answers. But none of them shines with the kind of obvious truth that makes the question unnecessary, let alone uninteresting, which is how it is being treated. The answers fall in two categories, each associated with a secretary of state.” Analysis: “Gonzales is perhaps best known for a controversial January 2002 memorandum to the president in which he argued that Geneva Convention proscriptions on torture did not apply to Taliban and al Qaeda prisoners, and that the conventions are, in fact, ‘obsolete.’ This interpretation of international law, which many have linked to the abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison, will no doubt be a focus of confirmation hearings. Senators might also want to quiz Gonzales about a less well-known June 1997 memo involving another treaty, the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. Written when Gonzales was counsel to then-Gov. George W. Bush, the memo puts forward the novel view that because the state of Texas was not a signatory to the Vienna Convention, it need not abide by the treaty. Or, put another way, Texas is not bound by Article VI of the Constitution, which states that U.S. treaties are ‘the supreme Law of the Land.’” Casualty Reports Local story: Florida Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: New Jersey Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Florida Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Indiana Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: West Virginia Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Nevada soldier wounded in Iraq. Local story: Connecticut Marine wounded in Iraq. Local story: Ohio soldier wounded in Iraq. Local story: Florida Marine wounded in Iraq. Local story: Idaho Marine wounded in Iraq. Local story: Massachusetts Marine wounded in Iraq. Local story: Indiana soldier wounded in Iraq. Local story: Louisiana Marine wounded in Iraq. Local story: Two Ohio soldiers wounded in Iraq.

War News for November 19 and 20, 2004 Bring ‘em on: Uprising in Baghdad. Bring ‘em on: One US soldier killed, nine wounded in Baghdad ambush. Bring ‘em on: Three Iraqi policemen killed in multiple insurgent attacks in Baghdad. Bring ‘em on: Heavy fighting continues in Mosul. Bring ‘em on: Two Iraqis killed, five wounded in car bomb attack on Iraqi police convoy in Baghdad. Bring ‘em on: One US soldier wounded in Mosul car bomb attack. Bring ‘em on: Two Iraqi policemen kidnapped in Tikrit. Bring ‘em on: Four Iraqi policemen loot al-Anbar patrol station and defect to insurgency. Bring ‘em on: Two Iraqis killed by roadside bomb in Samarra. Bring ‘em on: Three US soldiers wounded by roadside bomb near Beiji. Bring ‘em on: Governor’s mansion mortared in Mosul. Bring ‘em on: Iraqi policeman killed in attack in Baquba. Bring ‘em on: Iraqi policeman killed in mortar attack near Moqdadiyah. Bring ‘em on: Fighting continues in Ramadi. Bring ‘em on: Four Ministry of Public Works officials assassinated in Baghdad. Bring ‘em on: British troops under rocket attack near Mahmoudiyah. Bring ‘em on: Insurgents execute nine Iraqi soldiers in Mosul. ICRC sounds off. “Red Cross today condemned the ‘utter contempt for humanity’ shown by both sides in the war in Iraq. In a departure from protocol, the International Committee of the Red Cross urged all warring parties to comply with international humanitarian law and let aid workers carry out their duties. The damning indictment by one of the world’s most respected humanitarian aid organisations comes as a US official warned it would be difficult to hold elections in January unless the situation improved. And US commanders have said they are likely to increase their troops by several thousand as the election approaches.” US troops seal off Ramadi. US to increase troop levels in Iraq. World Vision abandons humanitarian mission in Iraq. Commentary Analysis: “For the average Iraqi, Sunni or Shi'ite - and Americans underestimate Iraqi national pride at their peril - there's no question: the current Sunni resistance morally prevails, because they are Iraqis fighting an invader/occupier. This means the US occupation in essence lost even before it began. Defining the resistance as ‘anti-Iraqi forces’ - as the Pentagon does - is nonsense: they are a legitimate popular resistance movement, while the US-trained Iraqi police are largely identified for what they are - collaborationists doing the dirty work of Iraqification, the Mesopotamian version of failed Vietnamization. Hundreds of these US-trained forces ran away before the battle even started in Fallujah. No wonder: they were resistance moles. And most of Mosul's police also defected.” Casualty Reports Local story: Michigan Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Texas Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Connecticut Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: New York soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Kentucky Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Texas Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Idaho soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: California Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: North Carolina soldier dies in Iraq. Local story: Massachusetts Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: California soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Wisconsin soldier dies in Iraq. Local story: Nebraska Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: California soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Minnesota soldier dies in Iraq. Local story: Texas Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: California Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: California Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Alabama Marine wounded in Iraq. Rant of the Day I ain’t making this shit up, folks. “The President’s surprise 2003 Thanksgiving Day visit to the U.S. troops in Iraq has inspired Talking Presidents to create a new action figure, Turkey Dinner Bush.” I'm not surprised. Conservatives will buy anything. I see an opportunity here, so Doodle Industries will soon market a line of pre-browned underpants on the Rush Limbaugh Show and call them Bush 9/11 Shorts. I’ll make a freaking fortune.

War News for Monday, November 15, 2004 Bring ‘em on: Air strikes, artillery fire, ground fighting continue in Fallujah. Bring ‘em on: Heavy fighting breaks out in Baquba. Bring ‘em on: Insurgents attack police stations, ING base near Suwayrah, seven ING soldiers and police killed. Bring ‘em on: Heavy fighting continues in Ramadi. Bring ‘em on: Six ING soldiers killed as insurgents storm two police stations in Mosul. Bring ‘em on: Insurgents seize and destroy governor’s mansion in Mosul. Bring ‘em on: US air strikes reported near Baquba. Bring ‘em on: Oil wells ablaze near Kirkuk. Bring ‘em on: Insurgents destroy main highway bridge near Beiji. Bring ‘em on: Insurgents attack Polish embassy in Baghdad. Bring ‘em on: Central Baghdad hotels under rocket fire. Commentary Editorial: “Now that the election is over, it wouldn't hurt the White House to be more candid -- even apologetic -- for the misinformation and miscalculations that have committed this country to a war in which more than a thousand Americans and tens of thousands of Iraqis have died. Next, the Pentagon should come clean on what a realistic U.S. troop strength is to secure Iraq and how long it will take. Then, the White House should come up with a realistic price tag for a ramped-up troop commitment and a plan for recruiting those troops. It should take that plan to Congress, which in turn should authorize only the troops and funding that it feels are justified for a specific time frame. Blank checks are simply unaffordable, both financially and politically.” Analysis: “American commanders say they expected that the fight for Falluja, coinciding with the end of the holy month of Ramadan, would set off a surge in violence across the country. But the scope and size of the attacks in Mosul last Thursday stunned American officers who were scrambling Sunday to regain the initiative.” Casualty Reports Local story: Connecticut Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Michigan Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Indiana soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: New York soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Maryland Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Virginia Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Wyoming Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Georgia soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Nebraska soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Colorado Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Nevada Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: New York Guardsman wounded in Iraq. Local story: Ohio Marine wounded in Iraq. Note to Readers I will be traveling to Chicago today to attend a memorial service for my sister on Wednesday. I will resume posting full updates on Friday morning, but I'll try to posat an open thread every day so alert readers can link to news stories. Thanks, YD

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.

War News for Saturday, November 13, 2004 Bring ‘em on: Insurgents retain control of Mosul amid heavy fighting. Bring ‘em on: Insurgents seize neighborhoods, police stations in Tal Afar. Bring ‘em on: Eight Iraqis killed by two car bombs in Hilla. Bring ‘em on: Heavy fighting continues in Fallujah. Bring ‘em on: Turkish truck driver killed in ambush near Balad. Bring ‘em on: Four US helicopters hit by ground fire near Fallujah. Bring ‘em on: One US soldier killed, two wounded in Baghdad patrol ambush. Bring ‘em on: One US soldier killed during combat operations in Mosul. Bring ‘em on: US helicopter shot down near Baghdad, three soldiers wounded. Bring ‘em on: Four Iraqis wounded in fighting near Baquba. Bring ‘em on: US contractor kidnapped in Baghdad. Bring ‘em on: Two US soldiers wounded by roadside bomb near Balad. Bring ‘em on: Four Iraqi civilians wounded by roadside bomb near Tikrit. Bring ‘em on: Three police checkpoints attacked and destroyed on Kirkuk – Tikrit road. Bring ‘em on: Oil and gas pipelines ablaze near Beiji and Kirkuk. Bring ‘em on: Two US soldiers wounded by sniper fire in Baghdad. US infantry battalion redeployed from Fallujah to retake Mosul. Iraqi interim government redeploys border guards to retake Mosul. Curfews imposed in Falluja, Ramadi, Samarra, Bayji, Hawija and Mosul, Baghdad and Najaf as November uprising spreads. Morning news round-up from al-Jazeera. Baghdad airport closed indefinitely to civil aviation. Netherlands will withdraw troops in March. Neocon ideologues vs. CIA analysts. “Transitions between CIA directors are often unsettling for career officers. Goss's arrival has been especially tense because he brought with him four former members of the intelligence committee known widely on the Hill and within the agency for their abrasive management style and for their criticism of the agency's clandestine services in a committee report. Three are former mid-level CIA officials who left the agency disgruntled, according to former colleagues. The fourth, Murray, who also worked at the Justice Department, has a reputation for being highly partisan. When senior managers have gone to Goss to complain about his staff actions, one CIA officer said, Goss has told them: ‘Talk to my chief of staff. I don't do personnel.’” Commentary Editorial: “All this again raises troubling questions over whether there are enough coalition troops on the ground to not only win the battles, but to secure the elusive peace. We know President Bush's answer to that question (that if commanders want more troops, they only need to ask). But with the situation that's developing, we must wonder, again, if it's the right answer. Offensive military operations have never been our problem; it's security afterwards.” Analysis: “According to official Pentagon spin, "hundreds and hundreds" of "terrorists" have already been killed in Fallujah. There's no proof - and there's no way to independently confirm it. Also because of the news blackout, nobody knows how many Fallujah civilians are dead. Sat-phone calls to Baghdad by trapped Fallujah civilians tell of rows of decomposing bodies littering the streets. Firdoos al-Abadi, the lady who is the head of the Iraqi Red Crescent's emergency committee, sums it all up: "It is a disaster inside Fallujah. There is no water, no electricity, no food. They [the Americans] are forbidding doctors from helping the people." The Red Crescent sent a convoy of four trucks to the city on Thursday with some first aid kits, food, blankets and tents. But a makeshift hospital set up in a mosque is helpless because the doctors are severely under-equipped.” Casualty Reports Local story: Maryland soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Florida Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Illinois Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Pennsylvania soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Illinois Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: California Guardsman killed in Iraq. Local story: Georgia Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Florida Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: California Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Kansas soldier wounded in Iraq. Local story: Ohio Marine wounded in Iraq. Local story: Kansas sailor wounded in Iraq. Local story: Texas contractor killed in Iraq.

War News for November 11 and 12, 2004 Casualty Reports Local story: California Guardsman killed in Iraq. Local story: Pennsylvania Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Michigan Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Michigan soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Florida sailor killed in Iraq. Local story: Texas soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: New York airman killed in Iraq. Local story: Texas soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Texas soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: New York Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Washington State Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Four Illinois Marines killed in Iraq. Local story: Wisconsin Guardsman killed in Iraq. Local story: Puerto Rico soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Florida Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Washington State Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Illinois Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Indiana soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: California Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: California Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Texas soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Two Kansas Guardsmen killed in Iraq. Local story: Two Wisconsin Marines killed in Iraq. Local story: Texas Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: New Jersey soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Oklahoma Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: New York soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Florida soldier wounded in Iraq. Local story: Louisiana Marine wounded in Iraq. Local story: Five Ohio Guardsmen wounded in Iraq. Local story: New York Marine wounded in Iraq. Local story: South Carolina contractor killed in Iraq. War News Bring ‘em on: Heavy fighting continues in Fallujah. Bring ‘em on: Heavy fighting reported in several Baghdad neighborhoods. Bring ‘em on: US troops mortared near Samarra. Bring ‘em on: Seventeen Iraqis killed in Baghdad car bombing. Bring ‘em on: Insurgents seize Mosul. Bring ‘em on: British helicopter pilot wounded by ground fire. Bring ‘em on: Two US soldiers wounded arresting Sunni cleric in Baghdad. Bring ‘em on: Uprising reported in Beiji. Bring ‘em on: Fourteen Iraqis wounded in attempted assassination of Kirkuk governor. Blowback. “Iraqi insurgents have extended their reach over large swaths of the country, including sections of the capital, making it unlikely that the United States can establish the stability needed for credible elections in January even if its forces succeed in Fallouja, military and political analysts say. There is little doubt that American-led forces will recapture Fallouja within days, the analysts say. But U.S. officials who are planning for the election face another challenge: a law and order vacuum in many Sunni Muslim areas where there are no American or Iraqi forces and insurgents can operate with impunity…. Civil authority appears to have all but vanished in some areas. In Haditha and Haqlaniya, neighboring towns 135 miles west of Baghdad, people say they are afraid to walk the streets. Insurgents sent a strong warning months ago after the U.S. military put a local tribal leader in control. Militants killed him and his sons. A second group of leaders, including a police chief, was also deposed.” 178 US troops wounded in assault on Fallujah. Heavy fighting. “Medical staff at a U.S. military hospital in southwest Germany are expanding bed capacity to care for scores of wounded from Iraq, including many from the assault on Fallujah, officials said Thursday. A planeload with 53 wounded from Iraq arrived Thursday morning, and another with 49 more was expected to arrive Thursday evening at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center -- together making an anticipated 102 for the day, spokeswoman Marie Shaw said. ‘We are very busy,’ Shaw said. ‘We have seen an increase of patient arrivals since the outbreak of the Fallujah conflict.’ On Wednesday, 64 wounded were brought in. The large number of wounded sent to Germany suggests that fighting might be more intense, at least in some areas, than the military had initially indicated.” Commentary Analysis: “What's to be done if the chaos continues in Iraq? Today, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman joined his paper's editorial board in calling for more boots on the ground, two divisions worth. Now, where are those boots going to come from? The Times' editorial, earlier this week, suggested that all the military had to do was raise recruitment quotas and, presto, enlistees would appear. Why? With the promise of 40,000 more troops in Iraq, the editorial suggested, these young men would no longer worry about their safety there. Just don't show them any footage from Landstuhl.” Opinion: “Of course it was convenient and the better part of valor for the president to wait until after the election to start dropping the 500-pound bombs on Fallujah as well as raking the streets with artillery and aircraft firepower. Bush, who has never been in war, flaunted his commander in chief status during the campaign. But clearly he did not want to put it to the test at Fallujah before Election Day. Had he done so, the president would have had to explain why he took the United States into Iraq and why he was targeting innocent Iraqis.” Analysis: “The old saw has it that war is too important to be left to the generals, but the truth is that war is too important and too costly to be left solely to the politicians. Fallujah is the case in point. This week as American and Iraqi troops launched their long-delayed and long-expected assault to crush the foreign and home-grown Sunni terrorists holed up in Fallujah, it was clear that the timing was dictated more by the American presidential election than by the forthcoming January Iraqi election.” Analysis: “Baghdad residents say there are practically no US troops around, even as regular explosions can be heard all over the city. Baghdad sources confirm to Asia Times Online that the mujahideen now control parts of the southern suburb of ad-Durha, as well as Hur Rajab, Abu Ghraib, al-Abidi, as-Suwayrah, Salman Bak, Latifiyah and Yusufiyah - all in the Greater Baghdad area. This would be the first time since the fall of Baghdad on April 9, 2003, that the resistance has been able to control these neighborhoods.”

Open Thread for Wednesday, November 10, 2004 Alert readers please post links to news stories in the thread below. Thanks, YD

Open Thread for Tuesday, November 9, 2004 Due to my work schedule I won't be able to post an update today or tomorrow. Alert readers can post links to news stories in the thread below. Thanks, YD

War News for Monday, November 8, 2004 draft Bring ‘em on: Fallujah assault begins. Bring ‘em on: One US soldier killed, four wounded in Baghdad convoy ambush. Bring ‘em on: One British, one South African security contractor killed by roadside bomb near Zubayr. Bring ‘em on: Thirteen Iraqis killed in firefight with British troops near Latifiyah. Bring ‘em on: Iraqi police kill 25 insurgents in fierce firefight near Latifiyah. Bring ‘em on: Two British soldiers wounded by car bomb near Mahmoudiyah. Bring ‘em on: Four Iraqis working for US forces assassinated near Kirkuk. Bring ‘em on: Baghdad car bomb kills one Iraqi; responding US troops ambushed, one soldier wounded. Bring ‘em on: Two Iraqis killed by car bomb on Baghdad airport road. Bring ‘em on: Four Iraqi contractors, one Turkish truck driver killed in separate attacks near Beiji. Bring ‘em on: One US soldier wounded by car bomb ambush in Mosul. Bring ‘em on: Four Iraqis killed 12 Iraqis and one US soldier wounded car bomb ambush near Ramadi. Anger in Baghdad. “The anger building up in Baghdad over the imminent attack on Fallujah is a warning that U.S. forces could start off more than they can handle. The sharp increase in attacks on U..S. and allied forces has been only the most violent form of rising hostility. But it is not an extremist few that are becoming more and more strongly opposed to the occupation and now a U.S. assault on Fallujah. What Iraqi people are saying could be even more worrying to the occupation forces than the attacks.” Draft. “David M. Miyasato enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve in 1987, served three years of active duty during the first Gulf War and received an honorable discharge in 1991. He remained on inactive status for five more years, until 1996. Since then, the Kaua'i resident has married, started an auto window tinting business and this year, he and his wife had their first child. But in September, Miyasato received a letter from the Army recalling him to active duty and directing him to report to a military facility in South Carolina on Tuesday.” Commentary Editorial: “If Mr. Bush feels he now has a mandate from the voters to stay the course until he creates a stable, unified Iraq, he owes it to the Iraqi people and Americans stationed there to commit enough additional troops to make that look like a plausible possibility. Insufficient troops in the early going made it easier for looters, saboteurs and assorted armed militias to derail earlier transition plans. Too few troops now would almost certainly mean less secure elections, further damaging delays in reconstruction and even graver threats to international aid workers and Iraqi military and police recruits. And it would mean no let-up in the risks and hardships for America's overstretched forces.” Analysis: “The insurgency has clearly moved beyond the Baathists; the stakes are much higher now. Last week, a large-scale offensive against Falluja seemed imminent, with American troops moving into position. The American special-forces officer told me that he and others were hopeful that, with the election over, the White House would give its full backing for a decisive battle: ‘By being aggressive, it may be tough, bloody, and unpopular at first, but it will knock the terrorists off balance and create the space for success. The longer we wait, the more difficult, costly, and bloody it will be.’” Analysis: “In exchange for a decrease in short-run risk, the United States would undermine its capacity to promote political reform in the Arab world. By avoiding competitive elections out of fear of an Islamist victory, the United States would play into the hands of the Arab governments that use the Islamic threat to justify their authoritarianism. For the democratic parties and organizations of civil society in the Arab world, the example of noncompetitive elections in Iraq would be extremely discouraging. As for Iraqis, being called to the polls to cast a vote that does not entail a choice would be a throwback to the days of Saddam Hussein.” Rant of the Day Occasionally, I receive email from thoughtful conservatives. Almost always, they complain that I don’t report the “good news” from Iraq and that I don’t offer any solutions. I started this blog as a direct result of the American media’s complete failure to adequately cover the war outside a 24-hour news cycle. I don’t intentionally exclude “good news” stories, but the fact of the matter is that there is no good news coming from Iraq. “Good news” would be a decline in insurgent attacks, improved security, secure roads, repaired and functioning electric systems, oil pipelines and water facilities. You don’t see “good news” here because none of that is happening. I don’t offer solutions because I didn’t start this war. Like millions of other Americans, I actively opposed Bush’s War. Partisan conservatives demonized us as “unpatriotic” and “peaceniks” and "hippies" without ever listening to our message. It’s helpful to remember that every bad thing the anti-Bush War people predicted has happened, while everything the neo-conservatives promised has failed to materialize. I didn’t shit the bed so I have no obligation to clean it up or sleep in it. Thanks to 19 months of blundering by Bremer and Allawi, there are no good solutions remaining. William R. Polk, writing in a guest editorial at Informed Comment, describes probably the last viable solution to establish a stable Iraqi government and avoid a catastrophic American defeat. Since his proposal runs contrary to the impossible objectives of the neo-cons (who are still in charge of this fiasco) our “decisive” president will most likely opt to stay the course to disaster. Personally, I think Polk is an optimist. I think there has been so much hate generated by an unnecessary invasion and botched occupation that we are one stupid mistake from being driven out of Iraq by an enraged and unified population. We may have made that mistake this morning near Fallujah. Throughout this last election campaign, it was clear to any rational American citizen that the Iraq occupation is failing badly and George W. Bush simply plans to sustain current policy. Any conservative who voted for Bush isn’t looking for solutions and is content with reassuring slogans. So don’t come crying to me about “solutions.” You had your chance to help fix this mess and you blew it. And if you really, really want happy crap disguised as “good news,” go visit Chief Wiggles fantasy blog.

War News for Sunday, November 7, 2004 Bring ‘em on: Insurgents execute 21 captured Iraqi policemen after heavy battle in Haditha. Bring ‘em on: Three Iraqi provincial officials assassinated in Mahmoudiyah. Bring ‘em on: US convoy attacked by car bomb near Baghdad airport. Bring ‘em on: Insurgents attack three police stations in Ramadi; 21 Iraqis killed. Bring ‘em on: Six Iraqi policemen killed in attack on Haqlaniya police station. Bring ‘em on: Turkish driver killed in roadside bomb ambush on US convoy near Mosul. Bring ‘em on: Green Zone bombarded in Baghdad. Bring ‘em on: One Iraqi policeman killed, four wounded in ambush near Baquba. Bring ‘em on: Three US vehicles destroyed in ambushes near Abu Ghraib. Bring ‘em on: Heavy artillery bombardment, air strikes continue in Fallujah. Bring ‘em on: Three US soldiers, one Iraqi wounded by car bomb in Baghdad. Bring ‘em on: Car bomb explodes at home of Iraqi finance minister in Baghdad. Bring ‘em on: One US soldier killed, one wounded in three convoy ambushes near Baghdad. Bring ‘em on: Insurgents capture and execute twelve ING soldiers near Latifiyah. Iraqi interim government declares martial law. “Iraq's interim government on Sunday declared a state of emergency for 60 days, the spokesman for interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi announced. He said the state of emergency, equivalent to martial law, would apply to all of Iraq except the Kurdish north.” Commentary Editorial: “Now that the election is over, the administration must face up to realities in Iraq. The key question is whether the American presence there is still part of the solution or part of the problem. While it's generally agreed that there must be an attempt to hold elections in Iraq early next year, what will come after that? Does the president need to greatly escalate the effort, even attack Syria and Iran, or will it be a time to find a way out? A continuing debacle in Iraq could wreck Bush's second term. That's reality.” Opinion: “The Iraq occupation is one of the worst American blunders ever, as countless experienced diplomats and former intelligence officials keep pointing out. There is no political support in either party to put in the number of troops necessary to secure the place. We can't even seal Iraq's borders, let alone hunt down insurgents. Our very presence is a recruiting poster for every kind of anti-American militant.” Casualty Reports Local story: Nevada soldier wounded in Iraq. Monkey Mail! To: yankeedoodle@gmail.com From: xxxxxx@cox-internet.com To the Delusional authors of emails on your website: I accidentally was directed to your website and found it to be totally inept and void of any real grasp of the situation in Iraq. No where in your website do you refer to the 9-11 attack and the unfortunate souls that lost their lives due to the religious nuts that hijacked the planes and crashed them into innocent people. You are most certainly DELUSIONAL! You must have your head in the sand to believe that there is no ties to Saddam and the fanatical terrorist that drive cars up to their own people and blow themselves up. You have to have been living in a cave for the past four years to NOT know that these Middle East radicals would have struck again. We as a country must protect our people and you cannot retreat in the face of an aggressor such as these religious nuts. It would have only been a matter of time (a short time) before Saddam or any number of terrorist groups funded by a rich dictator would have gotten their hands on WMD and used them against us. Do you remember the KURDS? Men, women and children poisoned by chemicals…! DO you think that could not have happened to us here on our soil? You are most certainly DELUSIONAL to think not. Do you remember Saddam’s two sons? What a pair of fucking pieces of shit, much like their father! Are you ashamed that we went in and blew them away? I’m not. What about the countless women raped and killed by these two losers? The people in Iraq will someday soon rise up and be liberated. It is not today. There are too many insurgents lurking around waiting to blow up anyone and themselves in the name of some ridiculous religion. Look at this part of the world, for example Afghanistan. Here you have Bin Laden running the country, women could not show their face, could not go to school. The country was a tyranny. What happened 9-11 was the result of these factions being able to organize? If given time, Saddam would have developed ways to kill us and other that supported us! Don’t wine about our solders dying! They are brave men, twice the man you are. They fight for a reason and a just cause… A proud American. And you're clearly proud to be a dickhead, too.

War News for November 5 and 6, 2004 Note to Readers Today's update consists of seperate entries for November 5 and November 6. November 5 Bring ‘em on: Three British troops, Iraqi translator killed, eight soldiers wounded by car bomb, mortar fire near Iskandariyah. Bring ‘em on: One US soldier killed, one wounded by roadside bomb near Balad. Bring ‘em on: Two US Marines killed, four wounded in fighting in al Anbar province. Bring ‘em on: American contractor killed near Abu Ghraib. Bring ‘em on: Nepalese security contractor killed in ambush in Iraq. Bring ‘em on: Four Iraqis killed, 18 wounded by car bomb in Dujail. Bring ‘em on: Iraqi government official assassinated near Baquba. Bring ‘em on: Iraqi Kurdish contractor assassinated near Kirkuk. Bring ‘em on: Air and artillery bombardments continue in Fallujah. Bring ‘em on: One US soldier wounded in car bomb ambush near Baghdad. Bring ‘em on: Two US Marines, embedded news photographer wounded by roadside bomb near Fallujah. Bring ‘em on: Two Iraqi children killed in mortar attack on police station near Muqdadiyah. November 6 Bring ‘em on: Twenty US Marines wounded in convoy ambush near Ramadi. Bring ‘em on: Twelve Iraqi policemen killed as insurgents storm police station in Samarra. Bring ‘em on: US convoy ambushed by car bomb on Baghdad airport road. Bring ‘em on: Twenty four Iraqis killed in multiple coordinated car bombings, mortar attacks in Samarra. Bring ‘em on: One US soldier killed, five wounded by mortar fire near Fallujah. Bring ‘em on: British security contractor, Iraqi civilian killed by car bomb. Bring ‘em on: Insurgents attack two US Marine checkpoints near Fallujah. Bring ‘em on: Former Iraqi army colonel assassinated in Mosul. Bring ‘em on: Gas pipeline sabotaged near Kirkuk. Bring ‘em on: Seventeen Iraqis killed in mortar attack on US positions near Tikrit. Bring ‘em on: Polish troops under mortar fire at Camp Babylon. Bring ‘em on: Iraqi security official wounded by car bomb ambush in Kufa. Bring ‘em on: Two Iraqis working for US forces assassinated in Samarra. Mosul may be the next Fallujah. Iraqi security forces. “Thanks to a U.S. Army captain from Mundelein, Iraqi police officers will be receiving bullet-resistant vests courtesy of his hometown police department. Stationed in Baghdad and working for the 127th Military Police Company, Army Capt. Erik S. Archer contacted the Mundelein police department in hopes of getting a donation of used vests. The protection will be worn by Iraqi police officers and the interpreters who work with them.” What happened to all the money Congress appropriated to equip Iraqi security forces? Fallujah offensive. “The U.S. military sealed off Falluja on Friday and launched a night of air strikes on the rebel city ahead of an assault seen as critical to the interim government's attempt to pacify Iraq before January elections.” Fallujah. “The number of dead and wounded from the expected battle to retake insurgent-controlled Al-Fallujah probably will reach levels not seen since Vietnam, a senior surgeon at the Marine camp outside Al-Fallujah said Thursday. Navy Cmdr. Lach Noyes said the hospital here is preparing to handle 25 severely injured soldiers a day, not counting walking wounded and the dead. The hospital has added two operating rooms, doubled its supplies, added a mortuary and stocked up on blood reserves. Doctors have set up a system of ambulances that will rush to the camp's gate to receive the dead and wounded so units can return to battle quickly. The plans underscore the ferocity of the fight the U.S. military expects in Al-Fallujah, a Sunni Muslim city about 35 miles west of Baghdad that has been under insurgent control since April. More than 1,120 U.S. military personnel have died in Iraq since the war began, more than 860 of those from hostile fire.” Miserable failure. “American intelligence agencies have tripled their formal estimate of shoulder-fired surface-to-air missile systems believed to be at large worldwide, since determining that at least 4,000 of the weapons in Iraq's prewar arsenals cannot be accounted for, government officials said Friday. A new government estimate says a total of 6,000 of the weapons may be outside the control of any government, up from a previous estimate of 2,000, American officials said… Shoulder-fired missiles - which are small, lethal and easy to use - are attractive weapons for terrorists. In recent months, Western intelligence and law enforcement agencies have repeatedly warned that Al Qaeda intends to use them to shoot down planes. In 2002, attackers who launched two small Russian-made SA-7 missiles almost hit a commercial aircraft taking off from Mombasa, Kenya. The new estimate of a larger number of the missile systems was discussed at a classified Defense Intelligence Agency conference in Alabama this week, the officials said. They declined to discuss the methods by which the new estimate had been reached, saying that it was classified.” Commentary Editorial: “Mr. Bush had a chance to explain at his news conference Thursday why a battle in Fallujah was necessary, but merely choked out a few words to the effect that ‘some of these people have to, must be, defeated.’ He and Mr. Allawi must do better. There should be an aggressive effort to make clear to Iraqis and their Arab neighbors -- not to mention Americans -- why a Fallujah operation is necessary, and what it is meant to achieve. There must be a quick, massive and highly visible effort to provide humanitarian support to noncombatants in Fallujah and to launch reconstruction once government forces regain control.” Opinion: “Now that the election is over, let's hope the president doesn't really believe his own slogans. They show little comprehension of the actual terrorist threat. The first slogan to scrap is the one about fighting the terrorists in Iraq so they won't come here. That bromide implies that there is a fixed number of terrorists. If we can just corral them in Iraq, we don't have to worry about another attack on New York. This is nonsense. There is no fixed number of jihadis. If anything, our presence in Iraq is inspiring an increase in the global number of terrorists. Since Saddam's fall, Iraq has become an ad for recruiting a new pool of alienated Muslim youths. New prospects are being solicited in Europe and the Middle East to head off for Fallujah or Baghdad. Instead of inspiring Arab youths to try democracy, our Iraq venture is inspiring them to sign up with radical clerics.” Opinion: “Every Sunday, the veterans come together to build ‘Arlington West’ — this one on the beach by the pier in Santa Barbara. There have been others, in Santa Monica, for instance. The veterans place a cross in the sand for every GI who's been killed in Iraq. Laid out with military precision, the memorial is visually striking, a stark message left on the doorstep of an otherwise picture- perfect reality. And each weekend the memorial is larger than the week before.” Analysis: “America, the first real democracy in history, was a product of Enlightenment values - critical intelligence, tolerance, respect for evidence, a regard for the secular sciences. Though the founders differed on many things, they shared these values of what was then modernity. They addressed ‘a candid world,’ as they wrote in the Declaration of Independence, out of ‘a decent respect for the opinions of mankind.’ Respect for evidence seems not to pertain any more, when a poll taken just before the elections showed that 75 percent of Mr. Bush's supporters believe Iraq either worked closely with Al Qaeda or was directly involved in the attacks of 9/11. The secular states of modern Europe do not understand the fundamentalism of the American electorate. It is not what they had experienced from this country in the past. In fact, we now resemble those nations less than we do our putative enemies.” Casualty Reports Local story: North Dakota Guardsman killed in Iraq. Local story: Two California Marines killed in Iraq. Local story: Alabama soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Texas Marine wounded in Iraq. Local story: Wisconsin Marine wounded in Iraq. Local story: Arkansas Guardsman wounded in Iraq. Local story: Virginia contractor killed in Iraq. Buck Fush. No compromise, no surrender.

War News for Thursday, November 5, 2004 draft Bring ‘em on: Nine Iraqis, one British contractor killed by car bomb near Baghdad airport. Bring ‘em on: Two Iraqis killed, eight wounded in air strikes near Fallujah. Bring ‘em on: One US soldier killed, one wounded by roadside bomb near Salman Pak. Bring ‘em on: Six Iraqis killed by car bomb at Education Ministry in Baghdad. Bring ‘em on: US contractor kidnapped in Baghdad. Bring ‘em on: Three ING soldiers executed by insurgents. Bring ‘em on: ING officer executed near Mosul. Bring ‘em on: Three ING soldiers killed, four wounded in car bomb ambush near Iskanderiyah. Bring ‘em on: Two ING soldiers killed by car bomb in Mosul. Bring ‘em on: Massive attacks on oil pipelines near Kirkuk. Bring ‘em on: US troops attacked by suicide bomber near Taji. Bring ‘em on: Four Iraqi children wounded in mortar attack on US positions near Balad. Bring ‘em on: British troops mortared near Mahmoudiyah. Hungary leaves Lieutenant AWOL’s coalition. Bulgaria announces troop reductions. Netherlands announces troop withdrawal in March 2005. MSF withdraws from Iraq. Osama bin Laden vows revenge for Bush’s War in Iraq. Equipment shortages. “The Oregon Army National Guard lacks the most effective armored vehicles in Iraq to protect soldiers from roadside bombs and rocket-propelled grenades, the Guard's highest-ranking officer said this week. In an interview Monday, acting Adjutant Gen. Ray Byrne said the military was not equipped to fight a grinding conflict with an insurgency that attacks convoys with powerful roadside bombs and rocket-propelled grenades.” Seven retired flag officers sound off about Lieutenant AWOL’s quagmire. “LTG Odom: ‘It's a huge strategic disaster, and it will only get worse. The sooner we leave, the less the damage. In the months since the invasion, the U.S. forces have become involved in trying to repress a number of insurgency movements. This is the way we were fighting in Vietnam, and if we keep on fighting this way, this one is going to go on a long time too. The idea of creating a constitutional state in a short amount of time is a joke. It will take ten to fifteen years, and that is if we want to kill ten percent of the population.’” Al QaQaa. “In the weeks after the fall of Baghdad, Iraqi looters loaded powerful explosives into pickup trucks and drove the material away from the Al Qaqaa ammunition site, according to a group of U.S. Army reservists and National Guardsmen who said they witnessed the looting. The soldiers said about a dozen U.S. troops guarding the sprawling facility could not prevent the theft because they were outnumbered by looters. Soldiers with one unit — the 317th Support Center based in Wiesbaden, Germany — said they sent a message to commanders in Baghdad requesting help to secure the site but received no reply.” Commentary Editorial: “For four years many hoped that the course charted by President Bush - a muscular go-it-alone view of a world divided between the forces of darkness and those of light - would prove to be a blip. Come November 2, 2004, they wanted to believe, normal service would be resumed. The United States would return to the old way of doing business, in concert with allies and with respect for the international system the US itself had done so much to create. The norms of foreign policy pursued by every president from Roosevelt to Clinton, including the first George Bush, would be revived. Senator Kerry promised as much. Now that fantasy will be shelved. The White House is not about to ditch the approach of the last four years. Why would it? Despite the mayhem and murder in Iraq, despite the death of more than 1,000 US soldiers and countless (and uncounted) Iraqis, despite the absence of weapons of mass destruction, despite Abu Ghraib, the Bush administration won the approval of the American people. If Bush had lost the neo-conservative project would have been buried forever. But he won, and the neo-cons will welcome that as sweet vindication.” Casualty Reports Local story: California Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Nevada Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: New York Guardsman killed in Iraq. Local story: West Virginia Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Georgia Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Maryland soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: South Carolina Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Arizona Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: New York Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Colorado Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Georgia Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Ohio soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Indiana Marine wounded in Iraq. Note to Readers Take a few minutes and go read Jo’s comments at Democratic Veteran. He’s got some interesting thoughts that are worth reading.