Mission Accomplished! Il Duce Bush pens permanent U.S. military presence in Iraq

Expect 50,000 U.S. troops to remain in Iraq FOREVER. That's the Bush/neocon plan. It won't be tolerated by Iraqis.

US, Iraq deal sees long-term US presence

QUOTE

BEN FELLER AP News Nov 26, 2007 21:53 EST ~~~snip~~~ The Iraqi officials [who spoke under conditions of anonymity because the subject is sensitive] said that under the proposed formula, Iraq would get full responsibility for internal security and U.S. troops would relocate to bases outside the cities. Iraqi officials foresee a long-term presence of about 50,000 U.S. troops, down from the current figure of more than 160,000. ___ Associated Press Writer Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad contributed to this story.

A "Declaration of Principles" from George Bush? by BarbinMD [Daily Kos front-page story] Tue Nov 27, 2007 at 06:07:33 AM PST

QUOTE

Yesterday it was announced that George Bush has unilaterally decided that the United States will have what appears to be a permanent presence in Iraq. ~~~cont'd~~~

General Douglas Lute said the long term agreement signed by President Bush and Iraq Prime Minister al-Maliki on the permanent stationing of U.S. troops in Iraq will not need to be brought before Congress because "it does not rise to the level of a treaty agreement". Another unilateral decision by our self-declared Wartime President, supreme Commander-in-Chief, and Unitary Executive extraordinaire! This is a fascist smack in the face AFAIC.

The ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict

As I document the ongoing vioence between Israelis and Palestinians, it is revealing to watch the comparative number of deaths on each side. I prognosticate that the number of Palestinians killed will far exceed the number of Israelis killed. That brings up the question of the appropriate use of force.

President Bush has convened a "peace" conference in Annapolis, Md. today. Hamas wasn't invited! Gazans are completely cut off (economically and every other way - borders are sealed). Palestinians living in Gaza are caught between Israel and the sea. The situation in Gaza is completely unacceptable. Bush is using this peace conference to build or strengthen a concensus against Iran and against Hamas. That is why this peace conference is a joke. Who cares about Condi Rice's legacy. The living conditions of Palestinians should be the first concern of all Palestinian leaders (including the Palestinian Authority) as well as United States if it is interested in brokering peace. I don't expect peace from Bush. I expect war. The man breaks everything he touches. The meeting in Annapolis will likely make things worse not better.

Three Gazans die in Israel strike

QUOTE

Last Updated: Tuesday, 27 November 2007, 12:07 GMT - BBC News Reports from the Gaza Strip say three people have been killed in two separate attacks by Israeli forces. The militant group Hamas said two of its members were killed in an Israeli air strike near the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza. Israeli military officials said the armed men were approaching the barrier between Israel and Gaza. And in southern Gaza, medical staff said a civilian was shot dead by Israeli troops near the Sufa crossing. However the Israeli army said that the man was crawling towards the crossing in a "suspicious manner". ~~~cont'd~~~

The legacy of slavery and southern white "heritage"

Many southern white Republicans routinely pooh-pooh the legacy of slavery by saying "I never owned slaves, and my parents and grandparents didn't own slaves either." They wash their hands of the legacy of slavery that to this day profoundly affects America's second largest minority group as well as American society in general.

I was listening to a program on public radio several days ago about efforts to build appropriate housing in a poor section of western Alabama. The area wasn't always poor. At one time it was at the heart of the prosperous Old South's empire of cotton which was built by slaves of course. In trying to build efficient housing today (not “tin can” trailers that are the norm) architects look to the old ways of orienting houses and providing natural ventilation. The professors remarked that the old manor houses couldn't have been built without slave labor.

The legacy of slavery in America is inescapable no matter how much southern white Republicans want to dismiss it. I, a southern white male who is 59 years old, well remember the 100th anniversary retrospective of the Civil War years back in 1961-1965. I clearly remember segregation in the American south during the 1950s. The experience of slavery is still fresh in the collective memory of American blacks, a huge stain on America, and a perplexing dilemma for Americans' psyches. The only comparable instances of collective guilt shared by American society are: the genocide perpetrated upon the native peoples of this land; the dropping of two atomic bombs on civilian populations in Japan during WWII; the deaths of between 1.5 and 3 million Vietnamese, Cambodians, and Laotians during the U.S. war in Vietnam; and the more than 1 million Iraqis who have died since the U.S. illegally invaded and occupied Iraq in March 2003. Many “conservatives” attempt to justify those atrocities as well.

Racial memory is long term. To this day the Jews celebrate Passover and praise the God of Israel as "the one who delivered us from the bonds of slavery in Egypt." That was millennia ago. Slavery in America was ended less than 2 centuries ago. Is it any wonder that we are still dealing with the consequences of such an inhumane institution as that of slavery in America? Until Americans collectively face our history, admit the unfathomable injustices done to huge numbers of humanity, and redress those wrongs, this society will continue to move forward carrying a heavy burden of subconscious guilt whether southern white Republicans recognize it or not.

Iraq 20 Nov 2007 - 7th report

As of 4:16 pm EST icasualties.org had raised its tally of U.S. military fatalities from the war in Iraq to 3875.

Iraq Coalition Casualty Count

11/20/07 CBS/AP: U.S. Helicopter Crash In Iraq Kills 2, 12 injured
A U.S. military helicopter crashed Tuesday southeast of Baghdad, killing two soldiers and injuring 12, the U.S. military said. Initial reports indicated the crash was not due to hostile fire, the military said.

Two killed as US helicopter crashes in Iraq

AFP 3:49 pm EST Tuesday 20 November 2007

A US military helicopter crashed near Salman Pak, 25 kilometres (16 miles) southeast of Baghdad on Tuesday, killing two soldiers and wounding 12, the American military said.

Military spokesman Specialist Charles Espie told AFP that the helicopter crashed due to causes yet to be determined.

"It was not brought down by enemy fire," he said.

"Two coalition force soldiers were killed and 12 were wounded," Espie said.

A military statement said an investigation would be conducted to determine the cause of the incident.

~~~cont'd~~~

Is there any doubt that Iraq is beyond any possibility of reconcilation between Sunnis and Shiites? See previous entry in 4th report today about how Ammar al-Hakim and his Shaheed al-Mihrab Foundation is a major player with a vision for a Shiite Iraq.

Al-Maliki lashes out at Sunni leader

By HAMZA HENDAWI, Associated Press Writer
4:34 pm EST Tue 20 Nov 2007

Iraq's prime minister lashed out at the country's Sunni Arab vice president in an interview published Tuesday, drawing attention to a bitter rift between two key politicians from rival sects at a time the U.S. is pressing for Iraqi unity.

~~~snip~~~

The outburst by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, printed in a newspaper read throughout the Arab world, occurred as American officials are urging the Iraqis to take advantage of a downturn in violence to resolve their differences before next year's planned drawdown of U.S. forces.

In the interview, published by Al-Hayat, a London-based, Arabic-language daily, al-Maliki, a Shiite, said Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi was to blame for a backlog of legislation adopted by parliament but not yet ratified by the three-man presidential council of which the Sunni is a member.

Al-Maliki also said al-Hashemi's Iraq Accordance Front, the largest Sunni bloc in parliament, was not representative of the country's Sunni Arab community.

The prime minister said he had given up trying to persuade five members of al-Hashemi's bloc to return to Cabinet posts they abandoned last August in a dispute with al-Maliki.

Al-Maliki said he planned to name other Sunnis from Anbar province and the cities of Tikrit and Mosul to those Cabinet posts and that "we are in the final selection stage."

~~~cont'd~~~

Iraq 20 Nov 2007 - 6th report

File this under a thread titled "U.S. military has become politicized" if using a bulletin board format.

Dems says Pentagon using scare tactics

By ANNE FLAHERTY, Associated Press Writer
12:40 pm EST Tuesday 20 November 2007

In their latest tussle with the White House on the Iraq war, two leading House Democrats said Tuesday the Pentagon was using scare tactics to try to goad Congress into passing another war spending bill.

And Reps. David Obey and John Murtha said they won't bite. Obey, D-Wis., chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, and Murtha, D-Pa., head of the panel's Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, said they won't support more money for the war this year unless President Bush accepts a timetable for troop withdrawals.

Last week, the House passed a $50 billion bill that would keep operations afloat for several more months, but sets a goal of bringing most troops home by December 2008. After Bush threatened to veto the measure, Senate Republicans blocked it.

"If the president wants that $50 billion released, all he has to do is to call the Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell, and ask him to stop blocking it," Obey told reporters.

Obey and Murtha convened the rare recess-week news conference to counter Pentagon reports that the military will have to take drastic steps next month if it doesn't get the money soon.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Friday signed a memo ordering the Army to begin planning for a series of expected cutbacks, including the layoffs of as many as 100,000 civilian employees and another 100,000 civilian contractors, starting as early as January.

Obey and Murtha said they calculate the military has enough money to continue operations through March by eating into its $471 billion annual budget.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the military has only limited transfer authority.

"Those who think we have some sort of flexibility here are simply misinformed," Whitman told reporters on Tuesday. "We've entered into a very serious period here."

Murtha said the Pentagon was issuing "irresponsible" propaganda.

"They're scaring people," he said. "They're scaring the families of the troops. . .That's the thing that's so despicable."

When asked whether public opinion could eventually turn against Democrats if they hold out too long, Murtha said no because the Pentagon has destroyed credibility.

"Go back and look: mission accomplished, al-Qaida connection, weapons of mass destruction," he said. "On and on and on and you'll believe the Pentagon?"

~~~cont'd~~~

Iraq 20 Nov 2007 - 5th report

Situation Normal in Baghdad by Devilstower [Daily Kos front-page story] Tue Nov 20, 2007 at 05:33:25 AM PST

Extremists Move North by Juan Cole [Informed Comment] Tuesday, November 20, 2007

AP reports that US generals in Iraq are talking about the move to northern Iraq of the most violent Sunni religious guerrillas (the US calls them al-Qaeda and some of them style themselves that way, though it is misleading).

The article says that Army Maj. Gen. Mark P. Hertling said from a base outside Tikrit north of Baghdad, Hertling said 1,830 roadside bombs were placed in his region in June, compared with 900 last month.

900 roadside bombs in one region of Iraq a month doesn't strike me as something to get all giddy about.

~~~cont'd~~~

Hat tip TPM Tuesday 20 November 2007

DC grand jury investigation of Iraq shootings goes beyond Blackwater.

--David Kurtz

Today's Must Read By Spencer Ackerman - November 20, 2007, 9:24AM [TPMmuckraker]

Remember that recently-impaneled grand jury looking at Blackwater's Nisour Square shootings? Turns out it's not just about Blackwater.
Four years into the occupation, prosecutors are attempting to build the first criminal case against private security companies -- who up until now worked in a system rigged to ensure unaccountability.

~~~cont'd~~~

McClellan Implicates President in Obstruction by BooMan [Booman Tribune] Tue Nov 20th, 2007 at 11:51:51 AM EST

Chomsky vs. Bush: The Iraq War by Steven D [Booman Tribune] Tue Nov 20th, 2007 at 09:28:19 AM EST

U.S. military to turn over AP photographer to Iraqi court

The news agency has protested the detention of Bilal Hussein, who is accused of having links to terrorist groups.

By Peter Spiegel, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
November 20, 2007

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. military has decided to turn over an Associated Press photographer to an Iraqi court for criminal prosecution, accusing him of having links to terrorist groups operating inside Iraq.

The photographer, Iraq native Bilal Hussein, was taken into custody by U.S. troops in Ramadi 19 months ago and has been detained ever since. Although an AP lawyer said Hussein has been held with little evidence, Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said Monday that the military decided to bring a criminal case after new evidence was uncovered.

"This case does not hinge on a single piece of evidence but rather a range of evidence that makes it clearer than before that Bilal Hussein is a terrorist media operative who infiltrated the AP," Morrell said.

AP officials have vigorously protested Hussein's detention and the difficulties they have had in legally defending him. Its own investigation supported none of the military's suspicions, the news organization has reported.

~~~cont'd~~~

Afghanistan

Chris in Paris cites a Reuters story in his AMERICAblog entry.

Afghanistan aid wasted by the truckload by Chris in Paris · 11/20/2007 03:05:00 AM ET [AMERICAblog]

Too much aid to Afghanistan wasted: Oxfam

By Jon Hemming
Reuters Mon Nov 19, 7:29 PM ET

Too much aid to Afghanistan is wasted -- soaked up in contractors' profits, spent on expensive expatriate consultants or squandered on small-scale, quick-fix projects, a leading British charity said on Tuesday.

Despite more than $15 billion of aid pumped into Afghanistan since U.S.-led and Afghan forces toppled the Taliban in 2001, many Afghans still suffer levels of poverty rarely seen outside sub-Saharan Africa.

"The development process has to date been too centralized, top-heavy and insufficient," said a report by Oxfam.

By far the biggest donor, the United States approved a further $6.4 billion in Afghan aid this year, but the funds are spent in ways that are "ineffective or inefficient," Oxfam said.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) allocates close to half its funds to the five largest U.S. contractors in Afghanistan.

"Too much aid is absorbed by profits of companies and sub-contractors, on non-Afghan resources and on high expatriate salaries and living costs," the report said.

A full-time expatriate consultant can cost up to $500,000 a year, Oxfam said.

More money needed to be channeled through the Afghan government, strengthening its influence and institutions.

Aid also needed to be better coordinated to avoid duplication, it said.

Only 10 percent of technical assistance to Afghanistan is coordinated either with the government or among donors.

~~~cont'd~~~

Afghan boys suffer mental scars after suicide bomb

By Tahir Qadiry
Reuters 9:06 am EST Tuesday 20 November 2007

Afghan schoolboy Naqibullah fears closing his eyes.

Each time he tries to go to sleep, he relives a suicide bombing that killed dozens of his classmates.

"I dream about the attack. I see the wounded and dead bodies around me," said Naqibullah, 14, who was wounded in the blast two weeks ago in the northern Afghan town of Baghlan.

The bomber blew himself up as boys from a high school lined up to greet a group of parliamentarians visiting a sugar factory.

Survivors are suffering dangerous psychological scars, doctors say.

Khalilullah Narmgoy, the head of the local hospital, said most of the children, while slowly recovering from their physical wounds, needed long-term psychological care.

"Most of these children are suffering from depression," he said. "I, as a doctor, who was standing 15 meters (yards) from the attack, have been affected by it. I was shocked by it and now dream about dangerous things."

~~~cont'd~~~

News from Pakistan

I don't see any leadership from the Bush-Cheney regime other than a secret plan to "secure" Pakistan nukes. Fred Kagan and Michael O'Hanlon throw in their worthless 2¢.

Journalists arrested in Pakistan

Last Updated: Tuesday, 20 November 2007, 12:27 GMT - BBC News

More than 100 journalists protesting against media restrictions and emergency rule have been arrested in Pakistan, eyewitnesses say.

Most were held in Karachi and several detained in Hyderabad.

Police baton-charged the Karachi journalists after they tried to stage a protest march. Some of them were hurt.

When President Pervez Musharraf imposed emergency rule on 3 November, radio and TV news was banned, as was criticism of the government.

~~~cont'd~~~

O’Hanlon Teams Up With AEI’s Kagan To Advocate Pre-Emptive Strike On Pakistan [Think Progress] 2007/11/19

Iraq 20 Nov 2007 - 4th report

How about these green apples?

Rising player with a vision for Shiite Iraq

By Sam DagherTue Nov 20, 3:00 AM ET

Ammar al-Hakim is presiding over an Iraqi Shiite building boom. His austere Shaheed al-Mihrab Foundation has raised 400 mosques in Iraq since 2003. It's building the largest seminary here in the holy city of Najaf and opening a chain of schools. And it now has 95 offices throughout the country.

What's more, Mr. Hakim's foundation is winning over adherents to his party – the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI) – through all-expenses-paid mass marriages along with cash payments and gifts for the newlyweds, free education and stipends at his new schools, and an array of other charitable projects such as caring for orphans and displaced families.

All of this is being done to promote ISCI's core vision: a federation of nine provinces where conservative Shiite Islam would reign.

While opponents say that such a federation among central and southern provinces would only hasten the breakup of Iraq and create a ministate where Iran would hold great sway, Hakim and his party are making great gains.

For them, the plan would bolster security for Shiites and benefit the stability of the country as a whole. And, most significant, they are winning much support ahead of a national referendum on the issue by April 2008, as proscribed by the Constitution.

~~~cont'd~~~

News from Somalia

I read today or yesterday that Somalia is now the biggest crisis in Africa. That is saying a lot considering Darfur and other regional wars in Africa.

'One million' homeless in Somalia

Last Updated: Tuesday, 20 November 2007, 12:27 GMT - BBC News

One million people are now living rough in Somalia, the UN refugee agency says.

The figure includes 60% of Mogadishu residents who have fled their homes - 200,000 in the past two weeks - leaving many districts empty, says UNHCR.

People have been forced out by renewed conflict between Islamist insurgents and Ethiopian-backed government forces.

Kenya's government has been strongly criticised for deporting 18 failed Somali asylum-seekers. "They are being sent to die," a rights worker said.

Meanwhile, the UN Security Council says it will continue to plan for a peacekeeping mission to Somalia, despite the secretary-general's opposition.

Ban Ki-moon said earlier this month that it was too dangerous to send troops to the war-torn country.

He instead urged countries to help the existing African Union mission.

On Saturday, Islamist insurgents armed with machine guns and grenades attacked the AU base in Mogadishu. Only Uganda has sent troops to the AU force.

'Against the law'

UNHCR says those who have fled to the Afgooye area, 30km from Mogadishu, are living in desperate conditions.

They are using plastic bags and rags to patch up their flimsy mud and straw huts.

~cont'd~~~

As Somali Crisis Swells, Experts See a Void in Aid

By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN
The New York Times

AFGOOYE, Somalia, Nov. 19 — The worst humanitarian crisis in Africa may not be unfolding in Darfur, but here, along a 20-mile strip of busted-up asphalt, several top United Nations officials said.

A year ago, the road between the market town of Afgooye and the capital of Mogadishu was just another typical Somali byway, lined with overgrown cactuses and the occasional bullet-riddled building. Now it is a corridor teeming with misery, with 200,000 recently displaced people crammed into swelling camps that are rapidly running out of food.

Natheefa Ali, who trudged up this road a week ago to escape the bloodbath that Mogadishu has turned into, said Monday that her 10-month-old baby was so malnourished she could not swallow.

“Look,” Ms. Natheefa said, pointing to her daughter’s splotchy legs, “her skin is falling off, too.”

Top United Nations officials who specialize in Somalia said the country had higher malnutrition rates, more current bloodshed and fewer aid workers than Darfur, which is often publicized as the world’s most pressing humanitarian crisis and has taken clear priority in terms of getting peacekeepers and aid money.

The relentless urban combat in Mogadishu, between an unpopular transitional government — installed partially with American help — and a determined Islamist insurgency, has driven waves of desperate people up the Afgooye road, where more than 70 camps of twigs and plastic have popped up seemingly overnight.

The people here are hungry, exposed, sick and dying. And the few aid organizations willing to brave a lawless, notoriously dangerous environment cannot keep up with their needs, like providing milk to the thousands of babies with fading heartbeats and bulging eyes. “Many of these kids are going to die,” said Eric Laroche, the head of United Nations humanitarian operations in Somalia. “We don’t have the capacity to reach them.”

He added: “If this were happening in Darfur, there would be a big fuss. But Somalia has been a forgotten emergency for years.”

~~~cont'd~~~

Iraq 20 Nov 2007 - 3rd report

The following Reuters story could be filed under "Get ready for $100+ barrel of oil" if I were posting in bulletin board format:

Oil climbs towards $95 on U.S. dollar concerns

Reuters Mon Nov 19, 6:22 AM ET

Oil rose towards $95 a barrel on Monday, supported by a weak dollar and after some OPEC members pushed for action to stem their declining purchasing power.

OPEC's heads of state summit in Riyadh ended on Sunday without signaling whether the producer group would agree to pump more oil at its December 5 policy meeting in Abu Dhabi.

But of greater interest to investors was the push by Iran and Venezuela -- both locked in diplomatic rows with Washington -- for action to offset the falling value of their dollar-denominated oil revenues.

U.S. light crude was up 77 cents at $94.61 by 5:52 a.m. EST. It rose more than $1 in earlier trade to $95.15.

London Brent crude rose 54 cents at $92.16 after rising to $92.81.

"OPEC talk about prices being undervalued and its concerns with the falling dollar are all filtering into the market," said Mark Pervan of ANZ Bank in Melbourne.

"There are pockets of bullish news out in the market and no bearish news at all."

While the weak dollar was omitted from the summit's final statement, traders say the growing concern over the U.S. currency's predicament could prompt OPEC to seek a higher price.

Goldman Sachs said it did not believe the tumbling dollar was the main driver behind oil's rally, but rather tight global oil supplies.

"We believe the currency impact on crude oil prices has been minimal and maintain that cyclical and structural factors have been the primary drivers behind the recent crude oil price rise," it said in its weekly energy report.

~~~snip~~~

It has also been two years since I appeared on Austin Rhodes' radio program on WGAC (am580) in Augusta, Georgia on October 21, 2005. At that time 1891 U.S. soldiers has died in Iraq. Today, 2 years later, that number is 3873 which is more than double the number of dead U.S. soldiers. That does not take into account the severely wounded or those Iraq war veterans who have committed suicide after they returned to United States. I have read that if suicides are counted as many as 15,000 U.S. troops have died as a consequence of the U.S. war in Iraq. CBS News reported that Iraq war veterans' sucide rate is double that of the general U.S. population, and for ages 20 - 24 the suicide rate is 4 times higher among returning Iraq war veterans. Meanwhile Austin Rhodes and others try to poohpooh the growing number of PTSD diagnoses. Such is the state of enlightenment in Augusta, Georgia 4 years & 8 months into this mistaken & godforsaken war.

Two Years After Murtha's Call: Another 1,800 American Troops Dead

On November 17, 2005, I wrote in this space that perhaps a kind of "Cronkite moment" had arrived in what already seemed like a long war in Iraq. The hawkish Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) had suddenly, that day, come out with a call to start rapidly removing U.S. troops from the war zone. Almost no editorials would embrace his call.

By Greg Mitchell
Editor & Publisher

(November 17, 2007) -- Two years ago today, I wrote in this space that perhaps a kind of "Cronkite moment" had arrived in what already seemed like a long war in Iraq. The hawkish Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) had suddenly, that day, come out with a call to start rapidly removing U.S. troops from the war zone. I wondered if editorialists and pundits would finally embrace that notion, rather than continue to lag behind the views of the American public.

They didn't, Congress also failed to act, and where are we two years later? We have even more troops in Iraq now -- and far fewer Iraqis there, as the mass exodus and ethnic cleansing has, if you will pardon the expression, "surged." While rampant violence has declined lately, there has been little or no political progress in that country.

The Democrats have just released a statement by Murtha, along with some revealing stats. The first number comes from two years ago, the latter from today.


U.S. troops fatalities: 2,081 (3,865)
U.S. troops wounded: 15,900 (28,400)
Cost to taxpayers: $213.6 billion ($448.6 billion)

And so on, including this stat on the cost of gas at the pump here at home: $2.20 then, $3.11 now.

Then there is the shocking increase in suicides among our Iraq veterans in the past two years, as documented by E&P and CBS News recently. Meanwhile, the U.S. death toll also hit a new record this year in Afghanistan -- and now Pakistan threatens to spin out of control amid reports that the U.S. may deploy more troops there.

~~~cont'd~~~

Iraq 20 Nov 2007 - 2nd report

The following NY Times story could be filed under "Rant against privatization of war" if I was posting in bulletin board mode.

43 in Contractor’s Convoy Held After Baghdad Shooting

By CARA BUCKLEY
The New York Times

BAGHDAD, Nov. 19, 2007 — The Iraqi military detained 43 people in a convoy for a contractor with the United States military on Monday after the shooting of an 18-year-old woman in central Baghdad, the military said.

Witnesses and an Iraqi Army sergeant said a guard on the convoy wounded the teenager in the leg as she crossed the street in the bustling, mixed neighborhood of Karada.

While some early accounts said American security guards had been arrested, Maj. Brad Leighton, a spokesman for the military, said none of those arrested were Americans. The military said the episode involved Almco, a Dubai-based company under contract to the military.

Immediately after the shooting on Monday, a throng of angry civilians lashed out at the guard and beat him along with his passengers, believing they were insurgents, witnesses said.

The company has a construction contract with the Department of Defense’s Joint Contracting Command Iraq and another contract to provide food, water and other basic services with the Multi-National Security Transition Command, which assists the Iraqi government with the development, organization and training of its armed forces.

The company does not handle any personal security for the American forces, but it is responsible for providing security for its own convoys, personnel and supplies while it is doing work related to its Department of Defense contracts.

“We have not confirmed which contract they were working on at the time of the incident,” said Major Leighton, who added that it was also unclear whether, at the time of the shooting, the company was traveling on a task related to carrying out one of those contracts.

~~~cont'd~~~

The following op-ed piece in the NY Times by Nicholas Katzenbach & Frederick Schwarz could be filed under "The War on Terror" or "Is it fascism yet?" threads if I were posting in a bulletin board format.

Release Justice’s Secrets

The New York Times
November 20, 2007
Op-Ed Contributor

By NICHOLAS deB. KATZENBACH and FREDERICK A. O. SCHWARZ Jr.

MICHAEL MUKASEY has been confirmed as attorney general. But the profound moral, legal and constitutional issues raised at his Senate Judiciary Committee hearings are unresolved. Mr. Mukasey should open the door to their resolution by releasing the Justice Department’s long-secret legal opinions that have warped our fight against terrorism.

When the Justice Department, usually acting through its Office of Legal Counsel, issues legal opinions binding on the executive branch, there is never justification for keeping them secret. Opinions that narrowly define what constitutes torture; or open the door to sending prisoners for questioning to Egypt and Syria, which regularly use torture; or rule the president has some “inherent power” to ignore laws are all of concern to Congress and the public whether one agrees or disagrees with the legal analysis.

Yet all these opinions have been kept secret, along with many other, related post-9/11 opinions that purport to decide what America’s law is.

~~~cont'd~~~

Iraq 20 Nov 2007 - 1st report

When I post in bulletin board mode the following AP story would be filed under "Traumatized veterans & their families" topic thread:

Soldier Decries AWOL Arrest at Hospital

By JEFFREY McMURRAY – 8 hours ago

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — A soldier facing his second tour of duty in Iraq said in a jailhouse interview Monday that he was at a hospital seeking mental help when he was arrested in the middle of the night for allegedly being absent without leave.

Spc. Justin Faulkner insists his superior officers at Fort Campbell knew about his mental problems but refused to provide adequate treatment.

On Thursday, Faulkner checked into a Lexington VA hospital, where doctors told him they wanted to keep him until Monday for observation. Police showed up at the hospital shortly after 2 a.m. Saturday to take him to jail.

"It's humiliating, degrading," Faulkner, 22, of Stanton, said in an interview with The Associated Press minutes before his release from the Fayette County Detention Center. "It's made me lose respect for the military. To come and arrest me at the VA, it wasn't like I was trying to hide, trying to run. I was getting help. I am being punished for getting help."

Faulkner, who concluded a one-year tour of duty in Iraq in February 2006, was due to head back there Monday to join the rest of his unit. He was released from jail on the condition he report back to Fort Campbell on Tuesday.

Faulkner said he would but insisted the Army would be "foolish" to send him to Iraq. He said he has been experiencing post-traumatic symptoms since realizing a few weeks ago that a return trip to Iraq was likely.

"I kept getting these flashbacks, these recurring scenes from when I was over there the first time," Faulkner said. "I get these anxiety attacks at night, and sometimes during the day, I daze off. I can't get it out of my head. It wasn't until I was told I had to go back to Iraq, something just clicked in my head — it was like reliving your worst nightmare."

Faulkner's superior officer at Fort Campbell, Sgt. Donnie Burnett, said he wasn't authorized to comment on the case.

Fort Campbell spokeswoman Cathy Gramling said she couldn't comment on specifics because of privacy issues but said "there are systems in place on the installation and through the chain of command to ensure soldiers receive the treatment they require."

Faulkner said those systems didn't work for him.

~~~cont'd~~~

The following are headlines on www.IRAQ.net at 5:40 am EST on Tuesday 20 November 2007:

General says N. Iraq most violent region (AP) AP - Despite a decline in violence in Iraq, northern Iraq has become more violent than other regions as al-Qaida and other militants move there to avoid coalition operations elsewhere, the region's top U.S. commander said.	Five killed in Baghdad attacks: security officials (AFP) AFP - Bombings and shootings in Baghdad on Tuesday killed five people, including a senior government official, and wounded nine, Iraqi security officials said.
Iran says will soon hold new talks with U.S. on Iraq (Reuters) Reuters - Iran has agreed to hold a new round of talks soon with the United States on how to improve security in Iraq, Iran's foreign minister was quoted as saying on Tuesday.	Iran agrees new talks with US on Iraq (AFP) AFP - Iran said on Tuesday it has agreed to a new round of talks with United States on improving security in Iraq, despite mounting tensions between the two arch-foes over the Iranian nuclear drive.
Keeping on Top of the Surge (Time.com) Time.com - One bad Sunday rocks U.S. soldiers in Sadr City, but American troops now feel they have the upper hand in Baghdad	Rising player with a vision for Shiite Iraq (The Christian Science Monitor) The Christian Science Monitor - Ammar al-Hakim is presiding over an Iraqi Shiite building boom. His austere Shaheed al-Mihrab Foundation has raised 400 mosques in Iraq since 2003. It's building the largest seminary here in the holy city of Najaf and opening a chain of schools. And it now has 95 offices throughout the country.
Iran agrees to new talks with US on Iraq (AFP) AFP - Iran said on Tuesday it has agreed to a new round of talks with United States on improving security in Iraq, despite mounting tensions between the two arch-foes over the Iranian nuclear drive.	43 detained after Baghdad shooting: US military (AFP) AFP - Iraqi troops detained 43 people, among them Sri Lankans, Nepalese and Iraqis, after a shooting incident involving a private security convoy in Baghdad, the US military said Tuesday.
US military accuses AP photographer of being "terrorist media operative" (AFP) AFP - The US military has filed a formal complaint with an Iraqi criminal court accusing a detained, award-winning Associated Press photographer of being a "terrorist media operative," the Pentagon said Monday.	US denies Americans detained in shooting (AP) AP - Iraqi troops detained 43 people, most Sri Lankans and other foreigners, in a convoy run by a U.S.-contracted firm after an Iraqi woman was wounded in a Baghdad shooting involving their vehicles, the U.S. military said. It denied reports that two Americans were also arrested.
US plans case against AP photographer (AP) AP - The U.S. military plans to seek a criminal case in an Iraqi court against an award-winning Associated Press photographer but is refusing to disclose what evidence or accusations would be presented.	Iraqi police seize foreign security guards after shooting (McClatchy Newspapers) McClatchy Newspapers - BAGHDAD? Iraqi authorities on Monday detained at least 12 foreigners, including two Americans, in connection with a shooting incident in central Baghdad that injured a woman and two men.

Compare the TWO stories below. These could be filed in bulletin board mode under a thread titled "Juxtaposed Contradictory Headlines":

Keeping on Top of the Surge

TIME.com
3:25 am EST Tue 20 Nov 2007

One bad Sunday rocks U.S. soldiers in Sadr City, but American troops now feel they have the upper hand in Baghdad

Five killed in Baghdad attacks: security officials

AFP 4:20 am EST Tue 20 Nov 2007

Bombings and shootings in Baghdad on Tuesday killed five people, including a senior government official, and wounded nine, Iraqi security officials said.

The official from the Geological Survey and a person accompanying him were shot dead when their car was raked with gunfire by unidentified attackers in Buratha, in the centre of Baghdad, a security official said.

In a similar incident, two civilians were killed when their car was attacked by gunmen in Drag neighbourhood of western Baghdad, he said.

One person was killed and six wounded when a bomb exploded at Al-Shariqa crossroads in southwestern Al-Bayaa neighbourhood, another official said.

Separately, three people were injured in a roadside bomb in Al-Baladiyat in southeastern Baghdad.

US military commanders say that there has been a sharp decline in the levels of violence across Iraq, including in Baghdad.

But they caution progress is "fragile" and "far from irreversible."

Major General Mark Hertling, the new commander of Multi-National Division North, told reporters in Washington on Monday via video link from Iraq that Al-Qaeda fighters have been pushed toward eastern and northern Iraq where violence is now the highest in the country.

"What you see is that the enemy is shifting," he said.

Iraq 19 Nov 2007 - 6th report

Here is the Republic War Party's M.O. (see Booman Tribune post linked below) followed by an example of said media saturation tactic (see CNN article linked below):

How They'll Come At Us by BooMan [Booman Tribune] Mon Nov 19th, 2007 at 01:23:27 PM EST

News photographer in Iraq accused of insurgent ties

Monday 19 November 2007

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
# U.S. military says it has "irrefutable" evidence Bilal Hussein linked to insurgents
# U.S. has detained AP photographer Hussein in Iraq since April 2006
# His case expected to be heard in Iraqi court system later this month
# AP says Hussein being denied due process; calls on U.S. to release him

From Mike Mount
CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. military says it has "convincing and irrefutable" evidence that an award-winning Associated Press photographer is connected to the insurgency in Iraq.

The photographer, Bilal Hussein Zaidon, faces charges in the Iraqi Central Court based on the evidence, Pentagon officials said Monday.

Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell and other U.S. military officials would not say directly what charges he faced. They referred reporters to the Iraqi court system.

Hussein, an Iraqi who lives in the western Anbar province city of Ramadi, has been held without charge by the U.S. military since April 2006, when bomb parts and insurgent propaganda were found in his house after the U.S. military asked to use it as an observation post during an operation.

Hussein was already under suspicion by the U.S. military because he arrived at terrorist attack sites so quickly that they suspected he had advance knowledge of attacks, according to Morrell.

Morrell said the reason for the delay in charging the man was that "additional evidence had come to light that the man was a media operative who had infiltrated The Associated Press."

Morrell said the Iraqi court system would hold a hearing later this month to determine if there was enough evidence to continue to trial.

Hussein is being held by the U.S. military in Iraq.

~~~cont'd~~~

Iraq 19 Nov 2007 - 5th report

Below are news stories of violence in Iraq and in Afghanistan:

Guard and 20 others arrested after shooting in Baghdad

By Cara Buckley
Monday, November 19, 2007

BAGHDAD: A security guard along with 20 other people who had been riding in a truck were arrested Monday after the guard shot a teenage girl in central Baghdad, witnesses and an Iraqi army sergeant said. The guard, whose nationality was not immediately known, wounded the girl, who is 18, in the leg as she crossed the street in the bustling, mixed neighborhood of Karrada around noon, according to witnesses.

The shooting spawned numerous and conflicting accounts over what exactly took place. Initial reports suggested that two American security guards had been arrested, but a civilian United States official in Baghdad said it was not known whether American guards, or indeed any guards, had been detained. The official also said it was unclear whether the girl had been struck by a bullet or merely by an opening vehicle door. But a witness who ferried the girl to the hospital insisted that she had in fact been shot.

The United States official also said it was not believed that any contractors with the State Department in Baghdad were involved.

~~~cont'd~~~

Suicide blast spares Afghan governor

By Abdul Waheed Wafa
Monday, November 19, 2007

KABUL, Afghanistan: A provincial governor in southwestern Afghanistan narrowly escaped a suicide attack on Monday, but his 25-year-old son and five of his bodyguards were killed in the blast. A civilian bystander was also killed, and 14 others were wounded, police officials said.

The bomber approached the governor's compound on foot on Monday morning just 10 minutes after the governor, Ghulam Dastagir Azad, had entered his office in the town of Zaranj, in Nimruz Province. He detonated his charge in the street at the entrance to the compound, where the governor's son was standing among a group of people, according to the provincial police chief, Muhammad Dawood Askaryar. He confirmed the death toll and said that of the wounded, six were policemen, three were employees of the governor's office and three were civilians.

Zaranj lies on the border with Iran and has been relatively free of insurgent attacks and the strong Taliban presence seen in the rest of the south and southeast of the country.

~~~cont'd~~~

Iraq 19 Nov 2007 - 4th report

This entry has human rights or the lack thereof as its focus. TWO artices below:

War on Terrorism Leads to Rights Abuses: Watchdog

By Tim Cocks
Reuters

Monday 19 November 2007

Kampala - Torture, beatings, executions, racist stereotyping and intrusive surveillance are among the abuses countries are committing in the name of fighting terrorism, a rights watchdog said on Monday.

The Commonwealth Human Rights Commission said since the 9/11 attacks, many nations had been using the military for police work in the so-called "war on terror", leading to brutal policing techniques, including extra-judicial killings.

The Commission made the allegations in a report which reviews human rights in the 53-nation body before the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).

"Until recently, torture was condemned as a gross violation of human rights ... fear of terrorism and the desire to respond to it is steadily undermining this absolute prohibition," the report said.

Among the offenders it named was Pakistan, which risks suspension from the Commonwealth because of President Pervez Musharraf's imposition of martial law. Also mentioned was Uganda, where military police this year raided the High Court to seize bailed opposition supporters accused of treason.

"The extra-judicial killing of 'terrorists' provides an easy way of eliminating suspects ... often, these 'terrorists' turn out to be children, dissidents, unarmed and peaceful protesters," the report said.

It said the right not to be jailed without charge was slowly being eroded. In Tanzania and Bangladesh, suspects can be held indefinitely without trial.

In Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei they can be detained for longer than 700 days, while Britain is considering an extension of the 28-day period suspects can be held without charge.

"The consequences of taking people into custody without cause, for long periods of detention, are made even direr by laws that restrict access to counsel," the report said.

"Positive profiling" of terror suspects has spawned racist stereotypes, it said. In Britain, people of south Asian descent are 30 percent more likely than others to be stopped by police.

"Anti-terrorism has resulted in the deepest compromises of our member states on human rights," Yash Ghai, an expert on rights and law at Hong Kong University, told delegates at a Commonwealth People's Forum.

Uganda will host CHOGM on Friday, after a state visit from Britain's Queen Elizabeth, the head of the Commonwealth.

The report notes that despite 13 international counter-terrorism conventions and resolutions, countries have failed to agree on a definition of terrorism.

Twenty Thousand Protest at Fort Benning: Eleven Face Federal Criminal Trials

By Bill Quigley
t r u t h o u t | Report

Monday 19 November 2007

In what has become the nation's largest annual gathering for peace and human rights, over twenty thousand people protested outside the gates of Fort Benning, GA, on November 18, 2007. Eleven people were arrested on federal criminal charges and face up to six months in prison.

Fort Benning is the site of the internationally notorious US Army training school for Latin American military and security personnel. For decades it was called the School of the Americas (SOA) - it is now called the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC). The school has graduated hundreds of military officers who have led or participated in nearly every human rights atrocity in the hemisphere. Organizations across the world, including Amnesty International USA, have called for its closure since discovering copies of torture manuals used at the school. In June 2007, 203 members of the US House of Representatives voted to close the scandal-ridden school - six votes shy of the margin of victory.

Thousands listened quietly as Adriana Portillo-Bartow told how her father, stepmother, sister, sister-in-law and two daughters, ages nine and 11, were "disappeared" in Guatemala in a war directed and carried out by graduates of the US Army School of the Americas. Thousands moved towards the gates of the Fort and called out "presente!" as the names of hundreds of other victims of graduates of the school were sung out.

Veterans of WWII, Korea, Vietnam and the never-ending Gulf Wars marched side by side with Catholic sisters and Buddhist monks. Flowers, posters, pictures and thousands of small white crosses bearing the names of people executed by graduates of the school were put on the closed padlocked gates topped with barbed wire. Thousands of college and high school students chanted and prayed Grandmothers for Peace as military loudspeakers blared warnings and law enforcement helicopters hovered overhead. Huge puppets, singing children and drum circles alternated with the spirited calls of priests, rabbis and ministers of many faiths and races. Songs in many languages, indigenous chants, guitars, horns and mountain flutes filled the air.

The eleven people who crossed onto the grounds were arrested by military police. The eleven, ranging in age from 25 to 76, are scheduled for federal criminal trial January 28, 2008, for trespass - punishable by up to six months in federal prison. Over 200 people have served federal prison time for civil disobedience at prior protests - dozens of others arrested have served years of supervised federal probation. The movement to close the school started in 1990 when about 20 people held the first protest outside Fort Benning.

Even if the US government is reluctant to close the school, Latin American countries look like they will do it themselves. Argentina, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Uruguay and Venezuela have announced they are withdrawing their militaries from the school.

Crimes by graduates continue. Colombia recently arrested five high-ranking military officers who received training at the US Army School of Americas and two additional officers who were instructors at WHINSEC. All are charged with providing security and troops for the major drug cartel in Colombia.

Simultaneous protests occurred in Santiago, Chile, Tucson, Arizona - outside of Fort Huachuca - where three people were also arrested and face federal criminal charges, Toronto, Canada, as well as Berkeley and Monterey California.

For more on the movement to close the School of the Americas see www.soaw.org.

Bill is a human rights lawyer and professor at Loyola University New Orleans College of Law. Bill is also a member of the legal collective of School of Americas Watch. Quigley@loyno.edu

Iraq 19 Nov 2007 - 3rd report

The following are headlines on www.IRAQ.net at 9:19 pm EST:

US denies Americans detained in shooting (AP) AP - Iraqi troops detained 43 people, most Sri Lankans and other foreigners, traveling in a convoy run by a U.S.-contracted firm after an Iraqi woman was wounded in a shooting involving their vehicles in Baghdad, the military said. It denied reports that two Americans were among those arrested.	US plans case against AP photographer (AP) AP - The U.S. military plans to seek a criminal case in an Iraqi court against an award-winning Associated Press photographer but is refusing to disclose what evidence or accusations would be presented.
US military deaths in Iraq at 3,873 (AP) AP - As of Monday, Nov. 19, 2007, at least 3,873 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes eight military civilians. At least 3,153 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers.	General says N. Iraq most violent region (AP) AP - Despite a decline in violence in Iraq, northern Iraq has become more violent than other regions as al-Qaida and other militants move there to avoid coalition operations elsewhere, the region's top U.S. commander said Monday.
Baghdad Residents Return - Warily (Time.com) Time.com - As violence drops, some are returning to neighorhoods that they previously fled. But will the stability last?	U.S. will not have to order diplomats to Iraq (Reuters) Reuters - The State Department said on Monday it had now found enough volunteers to serve in Iraq and would not have to force diplomats to go there.
Military files complaint against detained AP photographer (AFP) AFP - The US military has filed a formal complaint with an Iraqi criminal court accusing a detained, award-winning Associated Press photographer of being a "terrorist media operative," the Pentagon said Monday.	Al Qaeda shifts to northern, eastern Iraq: general (AFP) AFP - Al-Qaeda fighters have been pushed toward eastern and northern Iraq where violence is now the highest in the country despite an overall decline in attacks, a senior US officer said Monday.
US finds enough volunteers for Iraq embassy (AFP) AFP - The US State Department has dropped a plan to force diplomats to serve in Iraq now that it has found enough volunteers for dozens of vacant posts, a spokesman said Monday.	Grand jury opens Blackwater shooting probe: report (Reuters) Reuters - A U.S. grand jury has opened an investigation into the shooting deaths of 17 Iraqi citizens in September by Blackwater private security employees guarding a U.S. Embassy convoy in Baghdad, ABC News reported on Monday.
Blackwater guards called to testify: US media (AFP) AFP - The US Justice Department has called Blackwater guards to testify as part of its probe into the fatal shootings of 17 Iraqi civilians by private security contractors, US media said Monday.	McCain to visit troops over Thanksgiving (AP) AP - Republican presidential candidate John McCain will make his seventh trip to Iraq over the Thanksgiving holiday, a campaign adviser said Monday.

Iraq 19 Nov 2007 - 2nd report

The following are headlines on www.IRAQ.net at 2:44 pm EST on Monday 19 Nov 2007:

McCain to visit troops over Thanksgiving (AP) AP - Republican presidential candidate John McCain will make his seventh trip to Iraq over the Thanksgiving holiday, a campaign adviser said Monday.	Northern Iraq tops regions in violence (AP) AP - Despite a decline in violence in Iraq, Northern Iraq has become more violent than other regions as al-Qaida and other militants move there to avoid coalition operations elsewhere, the region's top U.S. commander said Monday.
Will Baghdad's relative quiet last? (AP) AP - The drop in bombings and killings in Baghdad is a welcome change from years of slaughter. But U.S. commanders and many Iraqis fear the relative quiet won't last without substantial political agreements among the country's sectarian leaders.	U.S. general says Qaeda fighters move to north Iraq (Reuters) Reuters - Al Qaeda fighters fleeing Baghdad and Anbar have moved into Iraq's volatile north, making that region the country's most violent, a U.S. commander said on Monday.
Iraqi says 2 American guards detained (AP) AP - Iraqi soldiers detained two American and one Italian security guards along with several other foreigners traveling Monday in a private security convoy after they opened fire in Baghdad, wounding one woman, an Iraqi military spokesman said.	Italian guards held after Baghdad shooting (AFP) AFP - Iraqi soldiers on Monday detained a group of Italian private security guards after they opened random fire in central Baghdad wounding a woman, a senior Iraqi army officer told AFP.
Trial seen for 2 Iraqi officials (AP) AP - Iraq's chief prosecutor said Monday a trial would begin within days for two former Health Ministry officials accused of diverting millions of dollars to Iraq's biggest Shiite militia and allowing death squads to use ambulances and government hospitals to carry out kidnappings and killings.	Iraq cracks down on Sadr militants (AFP) AFP - Dozens of militants loyal to radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr were arrested in a massive assault by US and Iraqi troops in the central city of Diwaniyah, officials said on Monday.
Baghdad Residents Return - Warily (Time.com) Time.com - As violence drops, some are returning to neighorhoods that they previously fled. But will the stability last?	Kidnapped Iraqi reporter freed (AP) AP - An Iraqi television reporter who was kidnapped in Baghdad last week was freed Monday, his station said.
Iraqi TV journalist kidnapped: press group (Reuters) Reuters - An Iraqi television journalist was kidnapped on Friday after leaving his home in Baghdad, Iraq's Journalistic Freedoms Observatory said.	US-Iraqi troops crackdown on Sadr militants (AFP) AFP - US and Iraqi troops have arrested dozens of militants loyal to radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in a massive crackdown in the central city of Diwaniyah, officials said Monday.

Iraq says 2 American guards detained

AP 2:36 pm EST Monday 19 November 2007

Iraqi soldiers detained two American security guards along with several other foreigners traveling Monday in a private security convoy after they opened fire in Baghdad, wounding one woman, an Iraqi military spokesman said.

U.S. military and embassy officials had no immediate information about the report, which follows a series of recent shootings in which foreign security guards have allegedly killed Iraqis.

Brig. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi said the convoy was driving on the wrong side of the road in the central Baghdad neighborhood of Karradah when the shooting occurred.

Those arrested included two American guards, along with 21 people from Sri Lanka, nine from Nepal and 10 Iraqis, al-Moussawi said. He earlier said an Italian, nine from Bangladesh and one from India were detained but later retracted that statement.

"We have given orders to our security forces to immediately intervene in case they see any violations by security companies. The members of this security company wounded an innocent woman and they tried to escape the scene, but Iraq forces arrested them," al-Moussawi told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

~~~cont'd~~~

Documenting the Iraq war FIASCO

I'm back to documenting the ongoing train wreck of a war in Iraq. Tom Ricks coined the term FIASCO to describe the first few years of the U.S. war in Iraq. IMO the term still applies. There is no political progress being made in Iraq. Whenever I hear the term "national reconciliation" I shudder at the naivete/arrogance of that preposterous proposition. Juan Cole cites Tom Ricks' piece which was in The Washington Post on November 15, 2007.

Iraqi Gov't Inaction Poses Grave Risks: US Officers by Juan Cole [Informed Comment] Monday, November 19, 2007

Killing of Iraqi civilians by U.S. military & "private contractors" continues. In this case the U.S. military is accused: Shooting reignites Iraqi furor; U.S. issues apology

By Bobby Caina Calvan and Laith Hammoudi, McClatchy NewspapersSun Nov 18, 7:01 PM ET

BAGHDAD -- A U.S. military convoy opened fire on a column of cars Sunday morning, killing at least two Iraqi civilians in southern Iraq and igniting a new round of anger over the apparent loss of innocent life.

Key details were murky -- including whether the military convoy fired as it approached the cars from behind, as local police contended. The number of fatalities was also unclear.

Police charged that the shootings were unprovoked and said six people, including two Iraqi policemen, died in a barrage of bullets.

The incident occurred on a day when U.S. officials announced that attacks in Iraq were at their lowest levels in nearly two years.

The first word of the incident came from an apology jointly issued late Sunday by the U.S. Embassy and the U.S. military, but the statement referred to only two deaths and four injuries.

A U.S. military spokesman said the incident was under investigation, and declined to release details. The military would confirm only that the deaths were the result of "a shooting incident" near Samawa, the capital of Muthanna province, located 160 miles south of Baghdad .

"The shooting was heavy," said 1st Lt. Hussam Mohammed of the Samawa police department.

"They shot from behind," he said. "We do not have anything in our report for any reason that would justify the shooting."

Five cars were damaged during the shooting, which occurred around 10 a.m. Sunday , Mohammed said.

~~~cont'd~~~

I'm Tired of Being a Veteran by Nameless Soldier [Daily Kos recommended diary] Sun Nov 18, 2007 at 10:10:40 PM PST