[uruknet.info] - [daily information from occupied iraq] - [newsletter 06 Jun 2005]

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One Hour in Haditha :
American Troops and Destroying Hospitals Strategy : Damage beyond Repair
Sabah Ali, BRussells Tribunal
...Two young men bodies, covered with blood, were just brought inside the
hospital. On the trolleys, the two bodies were lying, both shot in the head
(...) "Who are these men?" "This is Fouad Shihab Mohammad, a truck driver.
The other is Yousif Ammash, a guard in a construction plaster factory. They
were bringing plaster from the factory to Haditha when the American troops
ope! ned heavy fire against them." "Why? Were there any weapons in the
truck? Was there any fighting, any blast…what happened?" "No, there was
nothing of these things. They were civilians driving on the way, bringing
plaster to the town. This happens always here. Innocent people get killed
for no reason. This has to stop"...


<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=12357&s2=07>Read the full article / Leggi
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In now-religious Iraq, no tolerance for Gypsies
Gaiutra Bahadur
..."Now, Iraqis have become Muslims," said Akeel Hamid, 34, a former
Kamalia resident and a remnant of a community of Iraqi Gypsies that once
numbered 50,000. "So it's become harder for us to be here." Hamid is now a
squatter on the grounds of an air force officers' club reduced by bombs and
looting during the fall of Baghdad. He lives with dozens of other Gypsies
in tents improvised from dried date palm leaves, bamboo, and cardboard. The
children ha! ve scabs on their feet, and barbed wire with trash in its
coils litters the camp. "We used to have very nice houses," Nadia Ali
Mehsin said, crouching in her hut. "Saddam gave us the right... . No one
could harass or annoy us" (...) "What can we do? We just don't have the
money," Mehsin said. "People who could afford it left the country. Where
could we go? This is our country"...

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GOP Chair At Loss By Downing Street Minutes
David Swanson
On June 5, 2005, Ken Mehlman, Chairman of the Republican Party, was asked
about the Downing Street Minutes on "NBC News' Meet the Press." To my
knowledge, this was the first serious treatment of the matter on any U.S.
network news show. It still remains for a news program to report on the
matter on its own behalf, as opposed to asking a Republican guest to
comment on it...

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From 'Gooks' to 'Hajis'
Scott Taylor , Aljazeera.net
There is an inescapable comparison of Iraq to Vietnam. It has been two
years now since the first signs became evident that the US occupation of
Iraq would become a bloody fiasco. On 26 May 2003 the White House announced
that the interim military Governor of Iraq Jay Garner was to be replaced
with Ambassador Paul Bremer. At this juncture, the frenzy of widespread
post-invasion looting had petered out to a state of violent anarchy, and
three weeks earlier, Pres! ident George Bush had declared "mission
accomplished" aboard the aircraft carrier USS "Abraham Lincoln"...


<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=12360&s2=07>Read the full article / Leggi
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WOW, DID I SCREW UP
Malcom Lagauche
For those who read my column, I am not kind to my fellow countrypeople who
have little or no idea of the cultures of human beings who live outside the
borders of the U.S. I have used the words "ethnocentrism" and "xenophobia"
many times. I am proud of my openness and supposed awareness of cultural
differences. Ever since I have had this website, at the bottom of the
"Today's Article" page, I have shown the cover of my upcoming book,
formerly called "The Sledgehammer and the Ant! ." I say "formerly" because
of a letter I received yesterday. The following two paragraphs gave me a
lesson in areas in which I thought I was astute...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=12359&s2=07>Read the full article / Leggi
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Artists Fernando Botero and Steve Mumford depict US abuse in Iraq war
Pulling one's head out of the sand
Clare Hurley, WSWS
...But instead of retiring after 40 years of artistic success, Botero made
a radical break from the subjects that had made his work so popular. His
latest series of 50 drawings and paintings depicting the torture of Iraqi
prisoners at Abu Ghraib, of all his large body of work, will probably have
the most impact. Botero's choice stands out all more starkly because it has
hitherto b! een rare for any of today's established artists to approach the
subject...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=12362&s2=07>Read the full article / Leggi
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UNITED STATES: Corporate media hides Iraq war
Leslie Feinberg
The Pentagon war to annex Iraq as a profitable region of US capital's
empire is still raging, long after the fragile pretexts for invasion have
torn like tissue. The sheer brutality and colonial-style character of the
occupation have unleashed a firestorm of resistance that enjoys widespread
support in the Iraqi population. But not many people in the US are seeing
the reality of life for Iraqis and GIs on TV news or in newspapers...


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IRAQ: US deaths climb, Iraqi deaths go uncounted
Doug Lorimer, Green Left Weekly
May was the second deadliest month for the US occupation forces in Iraq so
far this year, with 72 US troops killed. This took the total number of US
troops killed in Iraq since the war began in March 2003 to 1657, according
to a count kept by Associated Press. On May 20, General Michael Rochelle,
chief of the US Army Recruiting Command, revealed that the war had resulted
in 8000 dead or severely wounded US soldiers. The total number ! of Iraqi
deaths since the war began is unknown, largely because the Pentagon refuses
to count Iraqi civilian deaths caused by US forces...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=12355&s2=07>Read the full article / Leggi
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Thanks .. But ..... No Thanks !
Imad Khadduri , Free Iraq
...Mr. Ahmed begged his American bosses for help, he was told they could do
nothing. He said he finally realized that for his family's safety, he would
have to leave Iraq. Alone, he crossed the border into Syria in January. Mr.
Ahmed is one of a growing group of Iraqis who used to work as interpreters,
drivers or cooks for American forces in Iraq but have fled to Syria because
the insurgency branded them as traitors. In recent months, Iraqis who are
known ! to have worked with American troops have been killed and kidnapped
in large numbers...


<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=12353&s2=07>Read the full article / Leggi
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Horrors of war in Iraq continue to haunt U.S. Marine corporal
Ravi Nessman, The Associated Press
As his new bride, Amanda, and her friends chuckle at stories over dinner,
Jack Self stares in silence. He doesn't laugh much anymore. Jack has spent
half of the last two years patrolling the cities of Iraq, dodging sniper
fire and roadside bombs, and watching friends die. The 26-year-old Marine
corporal no longer sees the humor in everyday life...

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Hundreds swept up in Baghdad crackdown
James Cogan, WSWS
The US military-Iraqi government crackdown in Baghdad, codenamed Operation
Lightning, is being condemned by Iraqi political leaders and clerics as a
campaign of intimidation directed against the population of predominantly
Sunni Muslim suburbs. On Friday, Mahmoud al-Sumaidie, a representative of
the Sunni-based Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS), told a congregation
at the large Sunni Um al-Qura mosque: "I appeal to every official here in
Iraq to stop hum! iliating people and end the raiding campaign". A leader
of the Sunni-based Iraqi Islamic Party (IPP), Iyal al-Ezzi, declared:
"During this operation, they arrest our sons for the simple fact of being
Sunni"...


<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=12350&s2=07>Read the full article / Leggi
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The Reports of Civilian Deaths in Iraq Make No Sense
Rowan Wolf, Project for the Old American Century
On June 2, 2005, Iraqi Interior Minister Bayan Jabr stated that 12,000
civilians have died from the attacks by insurgents (1) over the last 18
months. While the number seems high, I'll not debate it. However, if the
Iraqi government is keeping track of civilian deaths by insurgents, are
they also keeping track of civilian deaths from U.S. and coalition
operations? There is continued silence on this issue from bo! th the Iraqi
government (in its many renditions), and by the U.S. military which still
claims it is not keeping track.

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=12351&s2=07>Read the full article / Leggi
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Iraqis Look at Cuts in Payroll
Borzou Daragahi, LATimes Staff Writer
Iraqis, who are already dealing with food shortages, daily power blackouts
and a deadly insurgency, on Sunday received another dose of bad news: Their
newly elected leaders may slash budgets and government jobs. Many fear that
the move could cause impoverished Iraqis to sympathize with rebel forces
(...) Kubba did not say how many jobs could be eliminated, but he warned
that budget cuts "will be a bit painful"...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=12349&s2=07>Read the full article / Leggi
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The Fix Was In
Did Bush Deliberately Deceive America About Iraq?
Rep. JOHN CONYERS, CounterPunch
...Thus, absent any contradictory evidence, in the past two weeks alone
(leaving out the reports of the last three years), we have a pretty clear
pattern. This Administration had a cover story, namely that a clear and
present danger to the United States was posed by Iraq's WMD, for something
they knew they wanted to do: go to war with Iraq. Those who brought forward
the weight of evidence disputing these cl! aims were first ignored and
later punished. Those who assisted in the cover story were rewarded...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=12348&s2=07>Read the full article / Leggi
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Liberate America!
25 Reasons to Impeach George W. Bush
GARY STEVEN CORSERI, CounterPunch
Among other things, the U.S. Declaration of Independence is a lengthy bill
of particulars against the "abuses and usurpations" of King George III. If
the revolutionary founders had had their own government, Jefferson would
have used his writing skills to frame an impeachment bill. Among the
"abuses" T.J. cited was the King's refusal to "Assent to Laws, the most
wholesome and necessary for the public good." If the c! olonists were riled
enough over taxes on stamps and tea to shake the world with revolution,
what will their inheritors do with the "usurpations" of our present Chief
Executive? As Jefferson wrote, "Let facts be submitted to a candid world"...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=12347&s2=07>Read the full article / Leggi
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Stockpiling the Wounded from Iraq
Inside Walter Reed Hospital
NICOLE COLSON, CounterPunch
The flights almost always land at night--and the wounded are brought off
planes in the dark. Kept away from the news cameras, the nightly parade of
the injured who arrive at Maryland's Andrews Air Force base from U.S. Army
medical facilities in Germany are driven--sometimes in vans or school buses
converted into ambulances--to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington
and the National Naval Medical Center in B! ethesda, Md., the nation's top
military hospitals. These soldiers have gone from the front lines to the
back door--brought back to the U.S. under the cover of darkness to keep
them hidden from the media and the public...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=12346&s2=07>Read the full article / Leggi
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Operation Dud and Senator Joe
Kurt Nimmo, Another Day in the Empire
"Iraq's Operation Lightning, designed to crush insurgents in Baghdad with a
40,000-strong force, may be a dud," admits Reuters. Not only is it a dud,
it "could actually further erode confidence in improved security unless it
delivers tangible results." So far, Operation Dud, run by the Americans and
"elected" Shi'a politicians, has done little except antagonize the Sunnis.
"The Shiite-led Iraqi government acknowledged Sunday that its forces may !
have targeted innocent Sunni Muslims in a drive to crush the insurgency in
southwestern Baghdad and its suburbs," explains the Associated Press.

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=12345&s2=07>Read the full article / Leggi
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Iraqi Resistance Report for events of Sunday, 5 June 2005.
Translated and/or compiled by Muhammad Abu Nasr, member, editorial board,
the Free Arab Voice. ( http://www.freearabvoice.org )
...US forces arrested a little Iraqi girl aged six after wounding her, the
Board of Muslim 'Ulama' Scholars reported in a statement issued Sunday, a
copy of which was received by Mafkarat al-Islam. More than a month ago, the
little girl was with her father when US forces opened fire inflicting
non-life-threatening wounds on her! . The US forces then arrested the
little girl along with her father. Witnesses said that the little girl,
Sihr Rafi' Dhib, 6, was taken with her father to an unknown destination.
The Americans gave no explanation. The incident has aroused serious
concerns among local residents, all of them Bedouin who live in the
al-Jazirah desert near al-Qa'im on the Syrian border...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=12344&s2=07>Read the full article / Leggi
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When is someone going to toss Rumsfeld into a cage?
Jason Leopold, The Scoop
If you want to ensure that the media doesn't cover an important political
story, send out a press release on a Friday, preferably at the end of the
day. By the time reporters return on Monday, the story will be old news and
will either be buried deep within a newspaper or not covered at all. That's
what the Pentagon brass is praying for. At the end of the day Friday, the
Pentagon confirmed a pattern of widespread abuse of the Muslim holy! book,
the Quran, by military personnel dating back two and a half years...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=12343&s2=07>Read the full article / Leggi
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Officials: Bolton Provoked Unlawful Firing
CHARLES J. HANLEY, AP Special Correspondent
John R. Bolton flew to Europe in 2002 to confront the head of a global
arms-control agency and demand he resign, then orchestrated the firing of
the unwilling diplomat in a move a U.N. tribunal has since judged unlawful,
according to officials involved. A former Bolton deputy says the U.S.
undersecretary of state felt Jose Bustani ``had to go,'' particularly
because the Brazilian was trying to send chemical weapons inspectors t! o
Baghdad. That might have helped defuse the crisis over alleged Iraqi
weapons and undermined a U.S. rationale for war...


<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=12342&s2=07>Read the full article / Leggi
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The other struggles in Iraq
Baghdad Dweller
...Answering a journalists question about lifting subsidies for electricity
and fuel, Laith Kubba, the Prime Minister's spokesman, explained that this
was being forced on Iraq by the IMF because of debt: "As for writing off
the debts of Iraq, there are conditions to reducing the support of the
government for basic services. Iraq has 10 billions of debts, and I think
we cannot avoid this."...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=12340&s2=07>Read the full article / Leggi
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