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.
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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.
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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.
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