[uruknet.info] - [daily information from occupied iraq] - [newsletter 11 Dec 2004]

["uruknet.info" <redazione at uruknet.info>]

  uruknet.info
  «Ë-Ë"Ê Æ‰Ê·Ë
:: information from occupied iraq
:: informazione dall'iraq occupato

Fallujah Pictures
Dahr Jamail
Two weeks ago someone was allowed into Fallujah by the military to help
bury bodies. They were allowed to take photographs of 75 bodies, in order
to show pictures to relatives so that they might be identified before they
were buried. These pictures are from a book of photos. They are being
circulated publicly around small villages near Fallujah where many refugees
are staying. The man who took them was only allowed to take photos and bury
bodies in one small area of Fallujah. He was ! not allowed to visit
anywhere else. Keep in mind there are at least 1,925 other bodies that were
not allowed to be seen.(warning: extremely graphic)


<http://www.uruknet.info?s1=1&p=7992&s2=11>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info?p=7992


Two U.S. Troops Die in Iraq Copter Crash
Associated Press
A helicopter accident at an air base in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul
killed two U.S. soldiers and injured four, the military said Friday. The
crash occurred when an AH-64 Apache helicopter hit a UH-60 Black Hawk that
was on the ground, U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Paul Hastings said. The
accident is under investigation and the cause had not been determined, he
said...

<http://www.uruknet.info?s1=1&p=8010&s2=11>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info?p=8010


ICRC concerned about bodies, sewage in Falluja
Reuters
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Friday expressed
concern about civilians in Falluja, where sewage is flowing in the streets
and hundreds of bodies apparently lie in a warehouse since a U.S. assault.
The Swiss-based humanitarian group was drawing up plans to restore the
city's clean water supply after damage to water treatment facilities and
the sewage system, ICRC spokesman Florian Westphal said...


<http://www.uruknet.info?s1=1&p=8009&s2=11>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info?p=8009


Falluja Atrocities Expose True Face of U.S. War
Joseph Nevins, CommonDreams.org
... More recently, the Iraqi Red Crescent estimated that more than 6,000
people may have died in the battle. Eyewitness and survivor reports make
clear that U.S. forces were responsible--often deliberately--for most of
the victims. At least five fatalities were patients at a Falluja clinic
bombed by U.S. forces--despite promising that they would spare the
facility. A clinic doctor stated that American snipers killed many
civilians, ! the youngest a four-year-old boy. An Associated Press
photographer described U.S. helicopters shooting people trying to ford a
river to safety. Among those slain was a family of five....


<http://www.uruknet.info?s1=1&p=8008&s2=11>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info?p=8008


US sailor refuses deployment to Iraq in protest against war
Andrea Peters, WSWS
On December 6, as his ship was setting out for Iraq, Naval Petty Officer
3rd Class Pablo Paredes refused to board the vessel out of opposition to
the war. In doing so, Paredes joined the ranks of military personnel who
have spoken out against the invasion of Iraq and the US military's conduct
of the war. At least four US soldiers are either imprisoned or have
completed jail terms for refusing to serve in protest against the war, and
s! everal others have been "less than honorably" discharged...

<http://www.uruknet.info?s1=1&p=8003&s2=11>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info?p=8003


Soldier found guilty of murder in Iraq
Aljazeera.net
A US soldier who said he shot dead an unarmed and wounded Iraqi civilian to
put him out of his misery, has been found guilty of murder at a court
martial in Baghdad. Staff Sergeant Johnny Horne on Friday was convicted of
the unpremeditated murder of a severely wounded Iraqi civilian in Baghdad's
Sadr City district on 18 August...


<http://www.uruknet.info?s1=1&p=8006&s2=11>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info?p=8006


The Destruction of Mosques in Fallujah: An Open Letter to George Bush
Ralph Nader
Dear President Bush: Reading the news accounts of the recurring destruction
of many mosques in Iraq, I recall the words of your own former
counterterrorism chief, Richard Clarke, who wrote earlier this year: "Far
from addressing the popular appeal of the enemy that attacked us, Bush
handed that enemy precisely what it wanted and needed, proof that America
was at war with Islam, that we were the new crusaders to come to occupy
Muslim! land". Clarke was referring to your "unprovoked invasion of an
oil-rich Arab country", namely Iraq (...) The city of mosques -- Fallujah
-- now lies mostly in ruins. So do many of its mosques...

<http://www.uruknet.info?s1=1&p=8007&s2=11>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info?p=8007


Rumsfeld, the Military Irrelevance of Fallujah, and Retina Scans
Juan Cole
...Tom Lasseter of Knight Ridder calls a spade a spade in his article
today. He writes:

"There is no comprehensive way to quantify how rebel activity has been
affected nationwide by the Fallujah assault." That is, many claims were
made by the US military and by the Bush administration that an assault on
Fallujah would make a significant dent in the guerrilla war. Lasseter is
telling us that there is no way, two weeks later, systematically to
evaluate these claims. Why? "American officials no longer make available to
reporters a daily tally of the number of incidents reported around the
country." Because we, the American public are simply not being told the
truth by the Bush administration. This cover-up is absolutely outrageous...

<http://www.uruknet.info?s1=1&p=8004&s2=11>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info?p=8004


Halliburton Iraq Contracts Now Worth over $10 Billion
Henry A. Waxman, t r u t h o u t
The value of Halliburton's Iraq contracts has crossed the $10 billion
threshold. Halliburton has now received $8.3 billion in Iraq work under its
LOGCAP troop support contract and $2.5 billion under its no-bid Restore
Iraqi Oil (RIO) contract, a total of $10.8 billion. The mounting value of
the contracts has been accompanied by a growing list of concerns about
Halliburton's performance.

<http://www.uruknet.info?s1=1&p=8002&s2=11>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info?p=8002


Iraq's Democracy: The El Salvador Model
Ghali Hassan
It was assumed that the best regime that could form the façade in Baghdad
is the current US-appointed Iraqi Interim Government (IIG) (...) The core
of the IIG are: The Allawi's group of exiles (INA), the Chalebi's group of
exiles (INC), the Peshmergas of the two Kurdish parties, and the Badir
Brigade (Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, SCIRI), mostly of
Iranian origins. Furthermore, each group has its own mafia-style death
squad, and links to the C! IA or the Israeli Mossad agents. As I wrote
earlier, since they entered Iraq with the US invasion, the four groups have
taken the law into their own hands and have killed many innocent Iraqis,
including hundreds of Iraqi scientists and community leaders....

<http://www.uruknet.info?s1=1&p=8000&s2=11>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info?p=8000


'I have seen Iraq horrors worse than the media reports'
The Huddersfield Daily Examiner
AN IRAQI doctor who risked his own life treating people in the war zone has
spoken of the horrors he witnessed. Dr Salam Ismael, 29, addressed a crowd
at Huddersfield Town Hall about the hardships his people have faced since
the outbreak of war in Iraq in March 2003. He spoke at length about the
siege of Fallujah where he set up a field hospital to treat the wounded...


<http://www.uruknet.info?s1=1&p=7999&s2=11>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info?p=7999


Weapons of Mass Deception: New Film Documents How the Corporate Media
Muzzled the Truth About Iraq
Democracy Now!
...An April 2004 poll by the Program on International Policy Attitudes at
the University of Maryland found that almost half of the American public
still believed Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction before the
invasion of Iraq and 57% believe Hussein gave substantial support to Al
Qaeda. There's no known documentary or physical evidence to date that these
statements are true. So why do Ameri! cans believe this? A new documentary
called "Weapons of Mass Deception," by Danny Schechter of Mediachannel.org.
documents the media's biased coverage of the Iraq War....

<http://www.uruknet.info?s1=1&p=7995&s2=11>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info?p=7995


Whitewashing torture?
David DeBatto, Salon.com
On June 15, 2003, Sgt. Frank "Greg" Ford, a counterintelligence agent in
the California National Guard's 223rd Military Intelligence (M.I.)
Battalion stationed in Samarra, Iraq, told his commanding officer, Capt.
Victor Artiga, that he had witnessed five incidents of torture and abuse of
Iraqi detainees at his base, and requested a formal investigation.
Thirty-six hours later, Ford, a 49-year-old with over 30 years of military
service in the Coast Guard, Army and Nav! y, was ordered by U.S. Army
medical personnel to lie down on a gurney, was then strapped down, loaded
onto a military plane and medevac'd to a military medical center outside
the country...

<http://www.uruknet.info?s1=1&p=7998&s2=11>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info?p=7998


CIA official sacked for not faking reports on Iraq WMD
AFP
A sacked CIA official is suing the agency for allegedly retaliating against
him for refusing to falsify his reports on Iraq's weapons of mass
destruction to support the White House's pre-war position, The Washington
Post said Thursday. Described as a senior CIA official who was sacked in
August "for unspecified reasons," the plaintiff's lawsuit appears to be the
first public instance of a CIA official charging that he was pressured to
produce intelligence! to support the US government's pre-war contention
that Iraq's weapons of mass destruction were a grave threat to US and
international security.


<http://www.uruknet.info?s1=1&p=7997&s2=11>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info?p=7997


Abuse 'continued after Abu Ghraib'
Suzanne Goldenberg, The Gaurdian
US military officials witnessed the mistreatment of Iraqi detainees at a
second Baghdad prison at the height of the Abu Ghraib scandal and were
threatened and harassed when they attempted to report the abuse, official
memos released by the Pentagon have shown. The documents, which were
obtained by human rights organisations, contradict the Pentagon's claims
that the abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib was isolated to the jail and
involved a handful! of lowly reservists. The defence secretary, Donald
Rumsfeld, told Congress last spring that he knew of no other reports of
mistreatment outside the prison. However, documents released by the
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) have revealed that senior Pentagon
officials who claimed that Abu Ghraib was an aberration were repeatedly
informed of abuse elsewhere through official channels.

<http://www.uruknet.info?s1=1&p=7996&s2=11>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info?p=7996


Anger mounts as Iraq suffers power and fuel crunch
Luke Baker, Reuters
Taxi driver Ali Hashim has been waiting for more than 24 hours to fill up
his car with petrol -- and he's still more than five km (three miles) from
the nearest fuel pump. Welcome to Baghdad. "It's completely crazy," says
Hashim, who keeps a pile of blankets in the back of his car just in case he
has to sleep the night in one of the capital's endlessly snaking petrol
queues...


<http://www.uruknet.info?s1=1&p=7993&s2=11>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info?p=7993


Explosions hit Italian embassy and Mosul
Aljazeera.net
A number of mortar shells have exploded near the Italian embassy in Baghdad
on a day which saw more violence in Mosul and other parts of Iraq that left
several Iraqis dead and wounded. "Several mortar shells fell about 50m from
the embassy but there were no Italian victims," Italy's Defence Minister
Antonio Martino said in Rome on Thursday...



<http://www.uruknet.info?s1=1&p=8005&s2=11>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info?p=8005


1 million U.S. troops have gone to war
Mark Benjamin
Nearly a million U.S. troops have been deployed for war in Iraq or
Afghanistan since those conflicts began, according to Pentagon data. The
data also show that one out of every three of those service members has
gone more than once. The Pentagon confirmed to United Press International
Wednesday that a cumulative total of 955,000 troops from all military
services had been deployed for Operation Iraqi or Enduring Freedom by the
end of September. More than 300,000! of those troops have been deployed
more than once, the Pentagon said...



<http://www.uruknet.info?s1=1&p=7990&s2=11>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info?p=7990


Militants seize weapons, blow up police station
Nick Wadhams, The Associated Press
Guerrillas carried out a series of raids in the city of Samarra on
Wednesday, stealing weapons from a police station, blowing it up, and
exchanging fire with police and U.S. troops. At least five Iraqis were
killed, and the city police chief resigned...



<http://www.uruknet.info?s1=1&p=7989&s2=11>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info?p=7989


Iraqi Shiites exclude Sadr from election alliance
AFP
Iraq's majority Shiite Muslims have announced a broadly-based alliance
ahead of next month's key elections, which is backed by their highest
religious leader but excludes radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. The United
Iraqi Alliance groups the Dawa Party, the Supreme Council for the Islamic
Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) and Ahmed Chalabi's Iraqi National Congress...



<http://www.uruknet.info?s1=1&p=7988&s2=11>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info?p=7988


Rumsfeld to troops: You're all bullet-stopper slaves now
Kurt Nimmo
How many Americans would have signed up for Bush's military if they knew at
the time they'd be trapped in rotating tours of the Iraqi hell-hole?
Probably not many. In Kuwait yesterday at Camp Buehring, Rumsfeld basically
told a gathering of soldiers and Marines tough luck, you're in the army
now. "You go to war with the Army you have," he told them, "not the Army
you might want or wish to have." In other words, the Army the soldiers
"have" is not! the same Army they were promised when they signed up. But
then that's what happens when you turn yourself over to the government—you
become a slave drone and bullet-stopper for the Strausscon version of World
War IV...

<http://www.uruknet.info?s1=1&p=7987&s2=11>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info?p=7987




<http://www.uruknet.info>www.uruknet.info: a site gathering daily
information concerning occupied Iraq: news, analysis, documents and texts
of iraqi resistance available in Italian and English.





You receive this newsletter because you subscribed it. If you think it has
been an abuse, or simply if you don't want to receive it any more, to
unsubscribe from our newsletter, please write to
<mailto:webmaster at uruknet.info?subject=UNSUBSCRIBE>webmaster at uruknet.info
If you cannot read correctly our newsletter, please write to
<mailto:webmaster at uruknet.info?subject=ONLYTEXT>webmaster at uruknet.info to
get the text-version.