[uruknet.info] - [daily information from occupied iraq] - [newsletter 13 Jun 2005]

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Time to indict our leaders for crimes against humanity!
William Bowles, I'n'I
Iraq ‘Memogate’ reveals that the invasion was planned as long ago as April
2002, all that was needed was an EXCUSE If nothing else, the utter
disregard for the lives of the Iraqi people who have, since 1990 suffered
at least 1 million deaths at the hands of the ‘coalition of the killing’,
surely tells us everything we need to know about the nature of our
so-called civilisation. Our darker-skinned brothers and sisters count for
no! thing in the scheme of things; the scale of the atrocity barely gets a
mention in the mainstream media, and if it does, it’s always preceded by
‘our’ casualties. But bit by bit, the real story behind the invasion and
occupation of Iraq is becoming evident even to the most skeptical amongst
us...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=12533&s2=14>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=12533


A MATTER OF PRIDE
Malcom Lagauche
Today, it was announced the five U.S. Marines were killed in action as well
as about a dozen Iraqis fighting by the side of the U.S. In addition, a
high-ranking member of the quisling government was nearly assassinated.
With information like this being disseminated daily, it is no wonder that
the majority of people have forgotten the totality of the "mother of all
battles." What occurs today is an extension of the hostilities that began
on January 17, 1991. Much of the public of ! many countries wrongly believe
that there were two Iraq wars vs. the U.S. — one in 1991 and the other in
2003. The war has been raging consistently for almost 15 years. I mention
this because of incidents that happened during the 1991 military action
against Iraq and how they differ, yet remain the same today.

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=12550&s2=14>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=12550


Two armies, two reporters, too much trouble in Iraq
Greg Mitchell
...The immensely significant Shadid/Fainaru piece is based on their recent
(and separate) three-day journeys with American and the Iraqi
forces.Consider its opening, set in Baiji, Iraq (...) Keep in mind, these
are the Iraqis on our side: "An hour before dawn, the sky still clouded by
a dust storm, the soldiers of the Iraqi army's Charlie Company began their
mission with a ballad to ousted president Saddam Hussein. 'We have lived in
humiliation sin! ce you left,' one sang in Arabic, out of earshot of his
U.S. counterparts. 'We had hoped to spend our life with you.'" (...) "The
Iraqi soldiers were a grim lot," according to the Post article, "patrolling
streets where they lived and mosques where they worshiped. As they entered
their neighborhoods, some of them donned black balaclavas and green scarves
to mask their identities. They passed graffiti on walls that, like the
town, were colored in shades of brown. 'Yes to the leader Saddam,' one
slogan read. 'Long live the mujaheddin,' said another...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=12541&s2=14>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=12541


Jordan says U.S. troops abusing drivers
Webindia123
Jordanian local officials alleged that U.S. troops are abusing and
humiliating Jordanian drivers, an independent Jordanian paper reported
Monday. Al-Ghad daily quoted Mohammad Abul Ghanam, deputy administrative
officer in Ruweished which borders Iraq, as saying that 51 Jordanian
drivers have filed official complaints in the past three weeks to the
provincial administration that they were attacked and harassed by U.S.
troops on the Iraqi side of border (...) Al-G! had, owned by independent
Jordanian investors, last week reported that U.S. troops forced four
drivers to wipe human excrement in each other's faces, detained a dozen
drivers in toilets for 12 hours and broke the windows of their cars...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=12548&s2=14>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=12548


I Warned Bush/Cheney & The American Media That Iraqis Would Never Accept
the American Invasion or Occupation
Sam Hamod, Ph.D.
Long ago, before the invasion of Iraq, I sent letters to Bush and Cheney
stating that Iraq would never allow an American occupation. They didn’t
listen, nor did any of the major media when I phoned them and talked with
the editors at Washington Post, NY Times, ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, NPR and PBS;
what they all did was to ignore me, though I am one of the most educated
scholars on Islam in the ! United States and a former advisor to the U.S.
State Department and the only American born person to ever be the Director
of The Islamic Center of Washington, DC (the focal point of Islam in North
America when I was Director there in the 1980s)...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=12542&s2=14>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=12542


Downing Street II
Ray McGovern, Tompaine.com
Yesterday, London's Sunday Times published the text of another SECRET UK
EYES ONLY briefing document prepared for senior British officials. This one
was dated July 21, 2002, two days before British intelligence chief Richard
Dearlove gave Prime Minister Tony Blair and his top national security
advisers a briefing based on discussions with American counterparts in
Washington. The minutes recording the discussion at the July 23, 2002,
meeting, published by the Rupert Mu! rdoch's Sunday Times on May 1, 2005,
included Dearlove's matter-of-fact report that President George W. Bush had
decided to bring about "regime change" in Iraq by military action; that the
attack would be "justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD"
(weapons of mass destruction); and that "the intelligence and facts were
being fixed around the policy"...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=12543&s2=14>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=12543


COUNTERSPIN CENTRAL MEMO TO DEMS
Hesiod, American Street
Get ready for the latest Pro-Bush spin on Memogate. It goes like this: “The
latest British memo hitting the news today actually PROVES that Bush made
no “political decision” to go to war with Iraq, and that they all believed
that Iraq had WMDs.” The only problem with this spin, is that it’s
dishonest. But don’t expect Tweety or Russert to figure this out on their
own. So I am going to provide a handy dandy talkng point to explain how the
Downing Stre! et “memo” is actually still valid...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=12544&s2=14>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=12544


Saddam interrogation 'unlawful'
News24.com
The interrogation of Saddam Hussein in the absence of his lawyers was
"unlawful", a member of his Jordan-based defence team said after a video
was released on Monday of the ousted Iraqi leader being quizzed by a judge.
Issam Ghazzawi said: "What I saw on al-Jazeera television were pictures of
an interrogation, not a videotape, and this interrogation is unlawful
because it is conducted without the presence of a lawyer."

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=12545&s2=14>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=12545


State Dems: Impeach Bush
Cheney, Rumsfeld too
David Callender
Wisconsin Democrats are calling for the impeachment of President George W.
Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
Loyalists at this weekend's state party convention in Oshkosh passed a
resolution calling for Congress to initiate impeachment proceedings against
the three officials for their role in the war in Iraq...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=12549&s2=14>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=12549


Senator Joe Mulls Bullet-Stopper Conscription
Kurt Nimmo, Another Day in the Empire
Like a redheaded stepchild finally receiving his comeuppance, the
“downbeat” aspect of the Iraq story is now leaking into the corporate media
in dribs and drabs. It would seem this story is finally reflecting upon
public opinion, as a new Gallup poll reveals. “Patience for the war has
dropped sharply as optimism about the Iraqi elections in January has ebbed
and violence against U.S. troops hasn’t abated. For the first time, a maj!
ority would be ‘upset’ if President Bush sent more troops. A new low, 36%,
say troop levels should be maintained or increased,” reports Susan Page for
USA Today...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=12537&s2=14>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=12537


Will we reward evil?
Nextin, Livejournal
...Does anyone know the punishment for treason? Our dear president Bush has
committed war crimes, he has committed Treason! He is guilty, and we have
plenty enough proof. Why are we jumping around the real issues? Why are we
too afraid to demand justice? You can wait for a leading Democrat to take
this issue, but I guarantee you justice will not be served. He will be let
off easy and in 2009 the Bush's and the Clinton's will be hugging each
other while touring around "help! ing" victims of national disasters. If
you want answers, give me 10 minuets with Bush on national television and
there will not be one American that is not ready to Impeach this traitor...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=12536&s2=14>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=12536


Another Damning Document
Bush and Blair Deny Early Decision for War
GARY LEUPP, CounterPunch
...These recent reports constitute excellent exposure of the mendacity of
the Bush-Blair team, which should U.S. news editors decide to air
appropriately with big headlines and trenchant analysis could mean a
scandal dwarfing Watergate. Let us hope so. The evolving controversy really
ought to include discussion of this "last resort" notion. "Only if Saddam
forces our hand," we were told, "will we go to war! Onl! y if he continues
to defy the international community!"...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=12532&s2=14>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=12532


237 Documented Administration Lies to Public, Congress, About Iraq
'Threat,' bin Laden Ties
Bye The Times
President Bush and Administration Officials have offered 237 specific
claims that intelligence had established not only a threat from Saddam
Hussein, but a threat that his ''Weapons of Mass Destruction'' might be
given to terrorists. Additionally, the Administration mentioned ''Saddam
Hussein'' and ''9/11'' within a few words of each other over 100 times,
falsely associating the two in the public's mind...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=12538&s2=14>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=12538


USA Today and the Downing Street Memo
Cynthia Bogard, CommonDreams.org
What can reading USA Today tell us about the Downing Street Memo (DSM)
story? Zip. Zilch. Nothing. At least that was the case for the first 38
days after the memo was published in London's Sunday Times. USA Today
published not a word about it until June 8, 2005. This week though, the
leaked 2002 memo that indicates the Bush Administration had already decided
to go to war on Iraq months before it brought the subject before the United
Nations fi! nally made it into the nation's national newspapers, including
USA Today...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=12539&s2=14>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=12539


Some dots are finally getting connected
Imad Khadduri , Free Iraq
Hijacking Catastrophe video is powerful, understated, straightforward and
educational. In a single meticulously organized hour of evidence and
analysis, viewers are treated to a thoughtful explanation of modern
American empire, neo-conservatism as a driving force for the current Bush
administration...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=12551&s2=14>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=12551


Artists Fernando Botero and Steve Mumford depict the Iraq war: Part 2
New York art world’s apology for the Iraq war
Clare Hurley, WSWS
Other than Fernando Botero, the only artist to have received significant
attention for depicting the war in Iraq is Steve Mumford (American, b.
1960). However, his work is the antithesis of Botero’s. Instead of taking a
significant aspect of the war—in Botero’s case, the abuse of Iraqi
prisoner’s at Abu Ghraib—and using his imagination to formulate a response,
M! umford embedded himself with various US military units as a self-styled
“combat-artist.” (...) As an apologist for a brutal imperialist war—one in
which more than 1,600 American soldiers and many times more Iraqis have so
far been killed, and one that most recent polls show almost 60 percent of
Americans believe is not worth the loss of life—Mumford attempts to pass
off as art what is little more than propaganda...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=12528&s2=14>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=12528


Saddam composed in face of judge's questions
Michael Georgy, Reuters
Stroking his beard, Saddam Hussein appeared relaxed and confident as a
judge questioned him about the killings of dozens of Shi'ite villagers, a
case Iraq's government may believe could lead to a swift trial. In a film
released on Monday by the Iraqi Special Tribunal that will try him on
charges of crimes against humanity, the former Iraqi president was not
audible but he seemed defiant, staring intensely at the judge...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=12526&s2=14>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=12526


GOP Congressman Wants Troops Out of Iraq
Associated Press
A Republican congressman who voted for the Iraq war said Sunday that "we've
done about as much as we can do" in the country and that the reason for
invading Iraq has proven false. Rep. Walter Jones of North Carolina will be
among the lawmakers introducing legislation this week calling for a
timetable for the withdrawal of American troops in Iraq. "When I look at
the number of men and women who have been killed — it's almost 1,700 now,
in addition to close! to 12,000 have been severely wounded — and I just
feel that the reason of going in for weapons of mass destruction, the
ability of the Iraqis to make a nuclear weapon, that's all been proven that
it was never there," Jones said on ABC's "This Week"...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=12525&s2=14>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=12525


Letter to My Editor
We Don’t Want This War
Grace Reid
...Please tell the Iraqi people that the American people do not want this
war. Please tell the Iraqi people that the American people are going to try
to stop this war on June 16, 2005. Please tell the Iraqi people that the
American people never wanted this war, and never wanted this president.
Please tell the Iraqi people that the American people never elected Bush,
that he stole the election twice. Please tell them that we do no! t have
democracy in America, and we do not have the freedom of speech, of
assembly, or the press (...) Please tell the Iraqi people that there are
many, many good people of great courage all around the world who are trying
to help them and to stop this war. We want to see criminals in prison...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=12524&s2=14>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=12524


War Crimes: US Insists Its Leaders are Unaccountable to the World
Edward Berger and Madeleine Rose
The US has escalated its efforts to place itself outside the jurisdiction
of international justice. Not only has the US refused to join the
International Criminal Court (ICC), but the administration insists that
other countries accept that the US is above the law-or else, they lose
economic and military aid. On Dec. 7, Bush signed an Appropriations Bill
(HR 4818) that included a controversial provision denying econo! mic
assistance to countries that refuse to grant immunity to US citizens before
the ICC. A previous bill in 2002 denied funds for military assistance to
such countries. These explicit attempts to undermine the ICC are occurring
amidst worldwide accusations that the US may be committing war crimes in
Iraq and Guantanamo, and thus may be a strategy to protect US political and
military leaders from prosecution as war criminals...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=12523&s2=14>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=12523


THE WAR AND OCCUPATION IN IRAQ ARE ILLEGAL
Courtenay Francis Raymond Barnett*
Much has been said and written about America’s war, and occupation of Iraq.
Amongst the community of nations of the world, and within the minds of the
citizens of the world, two statements might succinctly clarify the issues
of war and occupation in Iraq. The war was illegal under international law.
The occupation remains illegal under international law...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=12535&s2=14>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=12535




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