Today in Iraq

War News for Saturday, April 2, 2004 Bring ‘em on: Twenty US soldiers wounded in heavy insurgent assault on Abu Ghraib prison. Bring 'em on: One US Marine killed fighting in Ramadi. Bring 'em on: Four Iraqi police, one civilian killed by car bomb in Baquba. Bring 'em on: US convoy ambushed by RPG fire near Baghdad airport. Bring 'em on: Police chief assassinated in Balad. Bring 'em on: US troops kill five insurgents during fighting in Samarra. Bring 'em on: One Iraqi killed, three wounded by bomb at Sunni mosque in Kirkuk. Bring 'em on: Mortar fire reported near Green Zone in Baghdad. Bring 'em on: Car bomb explodes near US position in Ramadi. Bring 'em on: US troops ambushed by RPG fire near Baghdad. Bring 'em on: Education official assassinated inBaghdad . Bring 'em on: Historic minaret damaged during fighting in Samarra. Rule of law. "The U.S. military said on Friday it has held since last year an American citizen without charges in Iraq as a suspected top aide to militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, drawing condemnation from civil rights activists. The man, who U.S. officials at the Pentagon and in Iraq refused to identify by name, possessed dual U.S.-Jordanian citizenship, the military said." Emphasis added. I like the way the article implies that only "civil rights activists" are outraged that the Bush administration can imprison an American citizen without trial. Our fucking press, starting with ABC News is a joke. Rummy's war plan. “A study of U.S. military operations in Iraq, prepared for Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, sharply criticizes Pentagon attempts to plan for the aftermath of the U.S.-led invasion two years ago, saying stabilization and reconstruction issues 'were addressed only very generally' and 'no planning was undertaken to ensure the security of the Iraqi people.' The study, done by the Rand Corp., an independent research group that was created by the U.S. government and frequently does analyses for the Pentagon, also says the experience in Iraq has underscored the Pentagon's tendency 'not to absorb historical lessons' when battling insurgencies. It notes a lack of political-military coordination and of 'actionable intelligence' in the counterinsurgency campaign, and urges creation in the Army of a 'dedicated cadre of counterinsurgency specialists.'… Planning for the invasion's aftermath rested with the Defense Department, the report recalls, rather than with the State Department or the National Security Council. 'Overall, this approach worked poorly,' the report says, noting that the Pentagon lacked the expertise, funding authority and contacts with civilian aid organizations for the job. When the insurgency arose, the report says, U.S. authorities failed to understand how it differed from past 'wars of national liberation' or from a 'classical guerrilla-type campaign.'" Tort reform. "Contractors for the former Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq can be sued in U.S. courts under an anti-war-profiteering law, the Justice Department contended in a federal case Friday. Government lawyers said the federal False Claims Act applies to contracts issued by the CPA, which ran Iraq from shortly after the 2003 invasion until it handed over power to an interim Iraqi government last June." Iraq Index. I will add this link among the reference material, but I'll also put it here so it doesn't go un-noticed. (Link via Bump in the Beltway.) Some good news, maybe. "A group of Sunni clerics, including some hard-line figures who fiercely oppose the American presence here, issued a statement today urging Iraq's Sunni Arabs to join the Iraqi army and the police. The edict, signed by 64 imams and religious scholars, was a striking turnaround for the clerics, who have often lashed out in their sermons at the fledgling army and police, branding them collaborators." Report from Afghanistan. "The United States is beefing up its military presence in Afghanistan, at the same time encircling Iran. Washington will set up nine new bases in Afghanistan in the provinces of Helmand, Herat, Nimrouz, Balkh, Khost and Paktia." Commentary Editorial: "The way the administration hyped the intelligence on Iraq is not just a matter of intellectual curiosity. It is vital that the public know the answers because Americans are now being asked to accept a new set of claims about nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea. A full airing of this issue could help John Negroponte, after his expected confirmation as national intelligence director, ensure that the missteps and misrepresentations are not repeated as the nation grapples with real threats from those and other countries, not imagined threats from Iraq. As it stands, the report has mainly negative value. It reminds us that the Senate Intelligence Committee has yet to complete and publish its investigation of the handling of the Iraq intelligence. And it shows us what the 9/11 panel's report might have looked like if Mr. Bush had succeeded in making Henry Kissinger chairman." Casualty Reports Local story: Kentucky Guardsman killed in Iraq. Local story: Florida Marine killed in Iraq. Local story: Washington State soldier killed in Iraq. Local story: Two Kentucky Guardsmen wounded in Iraq.