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Saturday, July 09, 2005

War News for Saturday, July 9, 2005 Bring 'em on: Operation Scimitar begins near Fallujah. Bring 'em on: Iraqi family killed by insurgents in Beiji. Bring 'em on: One US soldier killed, three wounded by roadside bomb near Balad. Bring 'em on: US convoy ambushed by roadside bomb in Samarra. Bring 'em on: Iraqi Army convoy ambushed in Fallujah. Bring 'em on: Baghdad oil refinery ablaze after mortar attack. Bring 'em on: Three US soldiers wounded by in ambush near Suwayrah. How many times have I heard this shit? "The U.S. commander of military forces in and around the Iraqi capital said Friday that insurgents apparently are no longer capable of carrying out more than sporadic attacks in Baghdad after a seven-week-old security crackdown. Maj. Gen. William Webster, who heads 30,000 U.S. and foreign troops and 15,000 Iraqi soldiers known collectively as Task Force Baghdad, cautioned that 'there are some more threats ahead. I do believe, however, that the ability of these insurgents to conduct sustained high-intensity operations, as they did last year -- we've mostly eliminated that.'" Mission creep. "The US military and Iraqi government are discussing plans under which American and other troops might begin helping protect foreign diplomats in Baghdad, a senior US general said. Army Major General William Webster, commander of multinational forces in the Baghdad area, told Pentagon reporters in a teleconference from Baghdad that something needed to be done "very quickly" to counter attacks against foreign diplomats in the Iraqi capital." Theocrats. "Several Iraqi women have been burned by acid attacks during recent weeks in Baghdad and the western province of Anbar. Acid attacks are a form of violence against women where acid is thrown at or sprayed on women’s faces, legs, or other exposed body parts, in order to punish women in this case for not wearing the ‘abaya,’ a long black cloak that only reveals the nose, mouth, eyes, and hands. Hania Abdul-Jabbar, a university student, had acid thrown on her face and legs by three men for not wearing the veil out in public. 'They cut all my hair off while hitting me in the face many times, telling me it’s the price for not obeying God’s wish in using the veil,' according to IRIN News. Today Abdul-Jabbar is blind in one eye, and her face is completely deformed due to the acid attack." Italy announces withdrawal timetable. "Italy plans to begin withdrawing some of its troops from Iraq in September, Premier Silvio Berlusconi said Friday. Berlusconi, who was a strong supporter of President Bush on Iraq, sent 3,000 troops to the country after the ouster of Saddam Hussein to help rebuild the country. He had previously indicated he hoped a pullout could begin in September. 'We will begin withdrawing 300 men in the month of September,' Berlusconi said at the G-8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland. But he added the decision would depend on security conditions on the ground and could change." Inside job.
The Iraqi minister of the interior announced the detention of members of what he called a secret organization linked to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi "intending to blow up the whole of the Iraqi Ministry Of Interior." The minister said in a press conference that there was an attempt to infiltrate the "Maghaweer" forces by a military secret organization inside the second mechanical contingent "affiliated to the ministry" with the aim of implementing assassination operations of many officers inside contingents and thereby blowing up the whole of the Ministry Of Interior." He explained that this organization includes 8 senior officers and members in the second mechanical contingent which belongs to the ministry. He said that those officers were appointed in the ministry one year ago "before I came to the ministry and they are now under detention," in remarks to the former government of Eyad Allawi.
Flypaper strategy. "Islamic extremists have been using Iraq as a planning center for attacks around the world since losing Afghanistan as their base in 2001, the government's chief spokesman said Friday. Speaking about Thursday's blasts in London that killed more than 50 people, Laith Kubba said 'we don't know exactly who carried out these acts but it is clear that these networks used to be in Afghanistan and now they work in Iraq.'" It's worth remembering that there were no Islamic extremists operating terror networks from Iraq before Lieutenant AWOL started his vanity war. Commentary Opinion:
If you're anything like me, you want to say "basta!" -- enough, already to the extensive news coverage given to the story of Natalee Holloway. The 18-year-old Alabama girl's disappearance while on spring break in Aruba was a terrible personal tragedy for her family and friends. Period. The confirmed deaths, however, of American women serving in Iraq recently and throughout the war are a national tragedy that has garnered but a fraction of the media attention of Holloway's apparent murder. Since the war began, 36 servicewomen have been killed this despite the fact that law forbids female soldiers from serving in combat. The latest deaths included those of two women with Camp Lejeune ties, Marine Cpl. Ramona M. Valdez and Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Regina R. Clark.
Casualty Reports Local story: Kentucky Guardsman killed in Iraq. Local story: Maine Guardsman wounded in Iraq. Local story: Guam soldier wounded in Iraq.

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