[uruknet.info] - [daily information from occupied iraq] - [newsletter 9 Oct 2005]

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When Torture becomes Policy
Mike Whitney
President Bush has made it clear that he will veto the $435 billion
Pentagon appropriations bill because it restricts his ability to abuse
prisoners in the war on terror. The bill, which forbids the "cruel,
inhuman, or degrading treatment" of prisoners in US custody, was passed by
an overwhelming 90 to 9 majority in the Senate. It was first flagrant
rejection of administration policy in nearly 5 years. Bush's veto puts the
administration on the extreme end of the policy sp! ectrum and links the
president to the widely reported incidents of human rights abuses and
torture at Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib and the other American prison facilities.
It is now impossible to deny that Bush not only supports a policy of
calculated mistreatment of prisoners, but was also directly involved in
establishing the current regime...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=16575&s2=10>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=16575


THE MYTH
Malcom Lagauche
"The war was wrong, but the world is better off without Saddam Hussein,"
heralded Democrat-after-Democrat in attempting to take the wind out of
George Bush’s sails. After all, Bush was saying that there still may be a
stash of weapons of mass destruction to be found in Iraq. Now, after
conclusive evidence has been shown by Bush’s own appointees that there was
not one gram of chemical or biological agents left in Iraq, the Republicans
are saying, "There were no weapons of mass destruction,! but the world is
better off without Saddam Hussein." The Republicans have stolen the
Democrats’ line of reasoning, almost down to the last word. Where do the
Democrats go from here? They’ve already staked out their war philosophy and
it has been co-opted by the Republicans. In other words, the Democrats shot
themselves in their collective feet. Let’s look at the statement about the
world being better off without Saddam Hussein. It seems that few people
have challenged that statement and it has been taken for fact. However, the
facts do not justify the statement...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=16558&s2=10>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=16558


Why’s Iraq’s constitution illegal?
Al-Jazera.com
...Also senior lecturer of law at the University of London, Dr. Marinos
Diamantides, described the drafting process as illegal. "One could argue
the entire process is against the law," IPS quoted Diamantides as saying.
"According to the 1907 Convention for the pacific settlement of disputes,
the occupying power has a duty to maintain the legal system of the country
it occupies. This is the first time ever that an occupying power has
dismantled the internal law syst! em of the country it occupies." Also
Denis Halliday, former UN humanitarian coordinator who resigned from his UN
post in protest against "genocidal sanctions", made similar remarks. He
said that "the UN doesn't have a position in Iraq today". "Once the
invasion took place, the UN became collaborators with the enemy [the United
States]"...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=16559&s2=10>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=16559


More reasons to vote “NO”
Baghdad Dweller
...Few days and the Iraqi constitutional referendum will be started, the
government announces a new measures including curfew, weapons ban, border
closings and other security measures. Interior Minister Bayan Jabr said:
“We will protect those who say yes and those who say no,’’ Part of these
“other measures” is: Iraqi police to protect “vote Yes” posters and
banners. There are also reports that American forces are photographing
workers who are putting up “! No campaign” posters and billboards in Iraqi
districts and tearing them down (Al-Saydya)...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=16566&s2=10>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=16566


Take a walk
A Citizen Of Mosul
...Another American trying to show me the "right" way.. Does anyone have
statistics of how many Americans and Iraqis got killed in this war..? When
you do, tell me who lost their lives because of this war!! Your soldiers
lost their lives because war is death, and war is a hobby of your
president. Dare you say anything more about female rights, we're strong
enough to claim them.. For me, I'm totally satisfied with what I had
before, as a female. The freedom I want is the one I lost t! hanks to your
country...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=16567&s2=10>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=16567


GI Special 3C77: "I Believe We Have Lost"
www.militaryproject.org
...Now we are blowing up bridges. For the first time I believe we have
lost. For the first time as a military professional I think we have no way
of winning this. We are willing to destroy the basic structures of the
country to deny the enemy their use. This means we have no other way to
deny them the use of these assets. We can't stop them, the Iraqi Army can't
stop them, the Iraqi police can't stop them and we can't collect enough
intelligence to! make the enemy pay for using what should be choke points.
There is no way to sugar coat this.

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=16585&s2=10>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=16585


A Kick in the Shin?
Anwaar Hussain, Fountainhead
...The reader can decide for himself whether the 2005 ElBaradei Nobel is
indeed intended as yet another kick in the shin for the current US
Administration or is merely a routine award as the committee chairman
suggests. The scribe, however, is reminded of a car sticker that read, “I
do not believe in any thing unless the Government denies it...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=16577&s2=10>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=16577


Iraq developments -- Oct. 8, 2005
Gilbert Achcar
For any person believing in good faith that occupation troops in Iraq are
helping the Iraqis build independent institutions in order to recover their
sovereignty, recent events in Basra -- the way British troops stormed
police headquarters in that city -- and their aftermath ought to be enough
to prove the contrary. Yesterday, Reuters (British troops seize 12 in Basra
raids) and other agencies reported how British troops arrested 12 persons,
including police office! rs, in Basra. The account by the Reuters
correspondent is interesting...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=16569&s2=10>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=16569


Making way for ‘constitution’
New U.S. offensives in Iraq
John Catalinotto, Workers World
Just as the month-long Ramadan fast was beginning, the U.S. Army opened a
new offensive in the West of Iraq called “Operation River Gate.” On Oct. 4,
U.S. occupation troops began attacking the cities of Haklanija, Parwana and
Haditha in Iraq’s Anbar province. According to reports from news agencies,
combat aircraft and helicopters bombed areas the U.S. forces described as
“possible hiding places for resistance gro! ups”...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=16570&s2=10>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=16570


GI Special 3C76: Rumsfeld At It Again
www.albasrah.net
...Under pressure from Congress, the Pentagon on Wednesday issued overdue
regulations for reimbursing soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan for body armor
and other gear they bought to protect themselves. The guidelines from the
undersecretary of defense, David Chu, come nearly a year after Congress
passed legislation mandating the reimbursement policy. That law required
the Pentagon to issue the rules by last Feb. 25. The purchase must have
been between Sept. 10,! 2001 and Aug. 1, 2004, and the soldier must not
have been issued equivalent government equipment...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=16568&s2=10>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=16568


Tell Us Who Fabricated the Iraq Evidence
Norman Dombey, The Independent
President Bush's principal adviser Karl Rove is to be questioned again over
the improper naming of a CIA official. Mohamed ElBaradei, accused by the
American right of being insufficiently aggressive, wins the Nobel Peace
Prize for his stalwart work at the helm of the International Atomic Energy
Agency. Pentagon official Larry Franklin pleads guilty to passing on
classified information to Israel. Just a normal week in politics. But there
is a ! thread linking these events and it is Iraq...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=16578&s2=10>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=16578


Making sense of why the Americans are in Iraq and Afghanistan
Mohamed Elmasry
If much of what you're reading these days on why the Americans are in Iraq
and Afghanistan does not make sense to you, these quotations may help. 1.
"If we lose this war, oil will be $100 a barrel, and if we win, it will be,
like, $25 a barrel." -- Donald Rumsfeld, American Defense Secretary 2.
"There is no question but that when one is engaged militarily that there
are going to be unintended losses of life." -- Donald Rumsfeld, America! n
Defense Secretary ...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=16579&s2=10>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=16579


Truth matters
Imad Khadduri , Free Iraq
..."And the second fellow, whose name is Imad Khadduri, he was involved in
the nuclear program but more as a--he collected documentation. And yes, he
went to Canada. I mean, there were a lot of Iraqis who left Iraq who had
more or less something to say. The fact that he said that the nuclear
program had ended--you know, I don't how you would agree to that, but it
does point to one of, I think, the systemic problems in the intelligence
committee..." Charles Duelfer [Canadian! ], former deputy executive
chairman, U.N. Special Commission on Iraq [UNSCOM]...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=16584&s2=10>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=16584


The Public’s Right to Know All About Judith Miller
Ahmed Amr: Editor NileMedia.com
Upon her release from voluntary incarceration, it didn’t take long for
Judith Miller to arrange for an appointment with CNN’s Lou Dobbs. After
finally conceding that Libby was involved in the Plame scandal, she
appeared on Lou’s show and declared that “"If people can't trust us to come
to us to tell us the thing the government and powerful corporations don't
want us to know, we're dead in the water." Miller continues to insist on p!
laying the farcical role of a First Amendment martyr...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=16560&s2=10>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=16560


Audacity with Mendacity: A Bush Trademark
Stan Moore
...But when you are George W. Bush, and all your programs and initiatives
are built on bold lies, from the need for a war against Iraq to the
so-called benefits of a "Healthy Forest Initiative" which cuts down entire
forests to "save" them from natural fires, the spiral of bold lying creates
a powerful vortex that is inescapable. How can one expect an honest Bush
explanation of a pending attack on Syria, when we know that Bush has
expressed a desire for regime ! change in that sovereign nation and has
asked Israel for recommendations on who should be the next ruler of Syria?
When you start with a lie, you have to finish with a bigger lie, and so
Syria will no doubt soon become recognized as a serious, imminent, and
highly lethal threat to the security of the United States of America, just
like Iraq, Panama, and Grenada were during the two generations of Bush
administrations...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=16565&s2=10>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=16565


Sunnis bury dumped bodies, blame Shiite death squads AP count shows 539
bodies in five months
Sinan Salaheddin Associated Press Writer
The 22 bodies, lined up in coffins in a mosque courtyard Friday, are as
shriveled as ancient mummies after lying a month in the desert where they
were dumped, bound and bullet-ridden. They were Sunni Arabs, rounded up
from their Baghdad homes one night by men in police uniforms. Relatives and
neighbors in mourning are convinced they were killed by government-linked
Shiite ! death squads they say are behind corpses that turn up nearly every
day in and around the capital — two more on Friday. Now some Sunnis are
vowing to take action to protect themselves...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=16564&s2=10>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=16564


Truth is the enemy
John Maxwell
...You will remember that Mr Milosevich was kidnapped from Serbia for trial
in the Hague on charges that troops under his authority committed war
crimes. There is no allegation that Milosevich authorised anyone to commit
the crimes for which he is being tried. Mr Bush, on the other hand, is
curiously cavalier about his own behaviour, asserting that his troops need
to be able to torture and mistreat their captives in order to get
information...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=16563&s2=10>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=16563


British and American leaders likened to Nazi war criminals
Andrew Sparrow / London Telegraph
Tony Blair and George Bush were compared to Nazi war criminals yesterday by
Scott Ritter, the former UN chief weapons inspector. "Both these men could
be pulled up as war criminals for engaging in actions that we condemned
Germany in 1946 for doing," he said. He said the Prime Minister and the US
President were "guilty of the crime of planning and committing aggressive
warfare"...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=16561&s2=10>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=16561


Ex-Marine Says He Committed Atrocities
JOELLE DIDERICH, Associated Press
A former U.S. Marine in Iraq alleges that his battalion committed
atrocities against Iraqi civilians during the U.S.-led invasion in 2003,
including shooting unarmed protesters (... ) He alleges that over a period
of a month and a half in 2003, his platoon killed more than 30 civilians in
Iraq. "We in fact, I feel, escalated the violence," he told The Associated
Press in an interview...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=16557&s2=10>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=16557


GI Special 3C75: Dying In Vain - October 7, 2005
www.militaryproject.org
...Well, here it is October 6, 2005, and the war in Iraq is still in
overtime. "Mission Accomplished," by George Bush almost 30 months ago, and
it is still a lie. Before Thanksgiving, there will be over 2,000 dead
Americans from this war in Iraq. The wounded will be kept a secret by the
Pentagon. Iraqi deaths, and wounded, will be a well guarded secret by the
Pentagon. Suicides by Iraq veterans will be kept a secret by the Pentagon.
Unexplai! ned one car accidents resulting in the death of an Iraq veteran
will be kept a secret by the Pentagon...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=16556&s2=10>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=16556


Iraqi Resistance Report for events of Saturday, 8 October 2005
Translated and/or compiled by Muhammad Abu Nasr, member, editorial board,
the Free Arab Voice.
In a dispatch posted at 3:20pm Mecca time Saturday afternoon, Mafkarat
al-Islam reported that British and Danish occupation troops had carried out
a new wave or arrests in al-Basrah on Friday night and Saturday morning.
Witnesses reported that the campaign focused on the northern districts of
al-Harithah, al-Qurnah, and Karmat ‘Ali in the northern part of th! e city.
Among those picked up in the British-Danish sweep was the engineer ‘Uday
‘Awwad Kazim, the official in charge of electric power distribution in the
occupation-installed provincial government of al-Basrah...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=16555&s2=10>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=16555




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