[uruknet.info] - [daily information from occupied iraq] - [newsletter 24 Jan 2006 - Part One]

["uruknet.info" <news at uruknet.biz>]

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

Rocky Mountain low
Eli Stephens, Left I on the News
Going from one low to another, the American "justice" system demonstrated
its complete indifference to murder on the same day the American President
talked about "respect[ing] human life." Chief Warrant Officer Lewis
Welshofer Jr., a man who suffocated another man to death in the course of
an "interrogation," was convicted in a Colorado military court not of
murder but of negligent homicide and may be fined a whopping $6,000 (he
hasn't actually been sentenced ye! t; $6,000 is the maximum). His
"punishment" was greeted by applause from the soldiers in the courtroom.
And how did Welshofer react? "I deeply apologize if my actions tarnished
the soldiers serving in Iraq."...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=19910&s2=25>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=19910


Crime of Compassion
Katherine Hughes, Axis of Logic
Muslims like Dr. Rafil Dhafir should be celebrated as the outstanding
humanitarians they are, not turned into convenient props in the War on
Terror. On October 27, 2005, after being detained 31 months and being
denied access to his own records, Dr. Rafil Dhafir, an oncologist from
Upstate New York, was sentenced to 22 years in Federal prison. A man of
Iraqi descent and Muslim faith, he lived in the U.S. since 1974 and has
been an American citizen for almost 30 ! years. As a direct response to the
humanitarian catastrophe created by the Gulf War and U.S. sanctions Dhafir
founded the charity Help the Needy (HTN). Despite many difficulties,
including the U.S. embargo and a brutal dictatorship in Iraq, HTN got food
and medicines to millions of starving Iraqis for 13 years. Without HTN aid
the UN statistic of 5,200 preventable deaths per month of children under
the age of five would undoubtedly have been much higher...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=19915&s2=25>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=19915


Baath Party Statement
The resumption of the "trial" of Comrade Leader intensifies the Baath and
the Resistance tenacity and resolution to eradicate the puppet authority
and rout the Occupation!
The Arab Baath Socialist Party
...Tuesday, the twenty fourth of January 2006, will resume the "trial"
sessions of the Comrade Leader Saddam Hussein, the President of the
Republic of Iraq and the General Commander of the Armed Forces and of a
number of his comrades. These " trial" sessions are used, as every one k!
nows pretty well, by the Occupation to go on with its failed project in
Iraq in its Imperialist, Zionist, sectarian and racist dimensions and
targets... which started already with the aggression, occupation,
destruction, burning, and plundering of Iraq and Iraqi civilisation
components and structures and whose chapters were translated into failed
political episodes, and collapsing and petrified security plans, official
Arab (buried already) initiatives, to salvage the Occupation and its failed
project...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=19911&s2=25>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=19911


AMERICA'S CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY / RADIOACTIVE GENOCIDE
It will take generations to remove the stain of our illegal and inhumane
transgressions
Allen L Roland, Ph.D, www.opednews.com
Currently, more than 50 percent of Iraqi cancer patients are children under
the age of 5, up from 13 percent. Children are especially vulnerable
because they tend to play in areas that are heavily polluted by depleted
uranium. America's greatest crime against humanity is radioactive genocide,
and prepare to be shoc! ked when you see the pictures of these maimed and
disfigured Iraqi children ~ who are the innocent victims of our illegal
war, occupation and economic rape of Iraq...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=19908&s2=25>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=19908


General Hayden is either incompetent or a liar.
Jersey Girls on General Hayden's Defense of Bush's Illegal Spying
Kristen Breitweiser, Patty Casazza, Monica Gabrielle, Mindy Kleinberg
Statement of September 11th Advocates Regarding NSA Domestic Surveillance
January 24, 2006
The Bush Administration has continually used 9/11 as an excuse to break the
laws of our great nation. A simple reading of the September 11th story
shows that General Michael Hayden and the Bush Administration are, once
again, contradicting themselves in their use of 9/11, this time with regard
to President Bush's illegal domestic spying program...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=19906&s2=25>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=19906


Die Iraqis Die!
Truth About Iraqis
Pursuant to my earlier posting about the cheap value (what value?) of
Iraqis in the perspective of the US military, another American war criminal
is let off for torturing and killing an Iraqi. Who can possibly deny that
racism and torture is institutionalized within the ranks of the US
military?...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=19903&s2=25>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=19903


Formal complaint sent to the International Criminal Court over Coalition
war crimes in Occupied Iraq & Afghanistan
Dr Gideon Polya, OrbStandard.com
Dear Mr Moreno-Ocampo, Mr Brammertz and Mrs Bensouda,
On 14 October 2004 I made a formal complaint against the Australian
Government and its Coalition allies over war crimes in Iraq, specifically
illegal invasion and subsequent horrendous civilian mortality in
contravention of international law (for details of this complaint and a
prior complaint sent to the 2 dozen top law officers of Australia see:
<http://www.newscentralasia.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1019). >http://www.newscentralasia.com/modules.php?name=News&file=ar
ticle&sid=1019). Since that complaint was made, it can be estimated from
the latest UNICEF reports (see:
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/index.html) that a further 560,000
under-5 year old infants have died in US Coalition-occupied Iraq and
Afghanistan in gross contravention of the Geneva Conventions for the
protection of civilians in time of war (1949)...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=19902&s2=25>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=19902


No Jail Time For Officer In Death Of Iraqi General
AP
A military jury of six officers on Monday ordered a reprimand for an
officer once facing up to life in prison for the death of an Iraqi general
during an interrogation session. Chief Warrant Officer Lewis Welshofer Jr.
also was ordered to forfeit $6,000 salary and was restricted to his place
of work, worship and barracks for 60 days. The sentence now goes to the
commanding general, Maj. Gen. Robert W. Mixon, who can order a lighter
sentence or set the whole ve! rdict aside, defense attorney Frank Spinner
said (...) After hearing the light sentence, Welshofer hugged his wife
while soldiers in the gallery watching the trial, many who had worked with
Welshofer and who testified as character witnesses, broke into applause...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=19899&s2=25>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=19899


When Israel Lies -- An American or Muslim Dies
Mohamed Khodr
...Freshmen politicians are immediately warned---it’s not nice to oppose
Israel. Thus our "elected" officials are willing to sacrifice American
taxes and youth to fight and die for Israel in Iraq, to be followed in
Iran, Syria, Sudan, and Lebanon. Israel’s leash to ensure American
involvement follows the usual path----Israel decides, Israel’s Lobbies
(AIPAC, ADL, AJC, ZOA, WJC etc.) pull the strings in Congress and the White
House, the Media relentlessl! y beats the drum for Israel causing mass fear
and hysteria, campaign money flows, spies activated in highly sensitive
national security positions, and suddenly the President appears in the Oval
Office telling the nation that "in the best interest of our national
security 'we’ must invade, bomb "fill in the blank" with an Arab Muslim
nation to protect our citizens and our "ALLIES."...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=19901&s2=25>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=19901


Troubled Saddam trial postponed again
Michael Georgy and Alastair Macdonald, Reuters
The trial of Saddam Hussein was delayed again on Tuesday, with judges
apparently divided after a series of setbacks that defence lawyers said
proved political interference with the U.S.-sponsored Iraqi court. A court
spokesman said the postponement to Sunday was due to witnesses failing to
appear, but Saddam's lawyer contested that and blamed it on disarray after
the resignation of the chief judge, who complained of government me!
ddling, and allegations that the judge's deputy had ties to the ousted
Baath party (...) "This is just an excuse to cover up the state of turmoil
and chaos in the court," lead defence attorney Khalil al-Dulaimi told
Reuters. "The court did not know from where or how to start the session ...
The court is in disarray ... after the resignations of the judges and
enormous political interference."...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=19900&s2=25>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=19900


The State of the Union
Here is your opportunity, Mr. President--tell us why you sent them to die.
Katherine Brengle
2,232. Two thousand, two hundred and thirty-two dead United States service
members. Two thousand, two hundred and thirty-two dead fathers, husbands,
brothers, mothers, wives, and sisters. Two thousand, two hundred and
thirty-two dead sons and daughters of America. Two thousand, two hundred
and thirty-two uniformed visits to families whose lives have been changed
forever. Th! e news stories no longer disturb us the way they once did.
"Seven soldiers killed in Baghdad today." Seven more families who will
receive the message that their loved ones died in action in a country so
remote to us that many Americans can’t accurately point it out on a map.

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=19905&s2=25>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=19905


Impeachment hearings: The White House prepares for the worst
Insight on the News
The Bush administration is bracing for impeachment hearings in Congress. "A
coalition in Congress is being formed to support impeachment," an
administration source said. Sources said a prelude to the impeachment
process could begin with hearings by the Senate Judiciary Committee in
February. They said the hearings would focus on the secret electronic
surveillance program and whether Mr. Bush violated the 1978 Foreign
Intelligence Sur! veillance Act...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=19909&s2=25>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=19909


The Power of One
A BUZZFLASH EDITORIAL
Of all the bullying insults to democracy, George W. Bush, a man who has
shown utter contempt for the rule of law and civilized governance, is about
to pack the Supreme Court with a majority who will grant him the powers of
a king. The Democrats in the Senate, as we predicted in multiple
editorials, will not filibuster Samuel Alito, short of some miraculous
epiphany and spinal transplant...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=19912&s2=25>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=19912


Sunnis in Iraq Urged to Defend Themselves
Sunni Arab Party Calls on Sunnis in Iraq to Defend Themselves in Wake of Raid
PAUL GARWOOD, The Associated Press
A leading Sunni Arab party Tuesday urged fellow Sunnis to confront armed
attacks on their community following a raid on a Sunni neighborhood in
Baghdad in which three men were killed and more than 20 abducted (...) The
U.S. military also said a roadside bombing in Baghdad killed two U.S.
soldiers Monday and two Marines died in a vehicle accid! ent west of the
capital. The call for Sunnis to defend themselves was made in a statement
issued by the Iraqi Islamic Party a day after gunmen, some wearing uniforms
of the Shiite-led government security forces, swept into the Toubji area of
Baghdad, raiding houses, abducting males and shooting three men dead...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=19916&s2=25>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=19916


Photographs From Iraq: January 7 - 22, 2006
Infoshop News
...Same day in Baghdad, after a roadside bombing injured three Iraqis (...)
U.S. soldiers are using electronic equipment to detonate roadside bombs
prematurely. This could be a reason why so many miss their targets and kill
civilians...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=19894&s2=25>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=19894


Prisoner abuse was routine at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib jail
Khalid Hasan
A former US soldier involved in prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib jail has said
torture and third degree methods were routine in the notorious facility.
Megan Ambuhl told the Washington Post that she was stunned when she first
got to the jail because there were "naked men in dusty cells, male
prisoners wearing women’s underwear, others hooded and shackled in
contorted positions to metal railings". She also saw a group of men chained
to a cell with one o! fficer telling her that the bars were often
"decorated like a Christmas tree", with prisoners as ornaments...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=19893&s2=25>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=19893


Seven GIs Killed in Iraq
ROBERT H. REID, Associated Press Writer
Gunmen wearing uniforms of a Shiite-led security force swept into a Sunni
Arab neighborhood in central Baghdad before dawn Monday, killing three men
and speeding away with more than 20 others, police and witnesses said.
Meanwhile, the U.S. military said seven more U.S. troops had been killed -
a soldier in a roadside bombing in Baghdad on Monday, two Air Force members
in a blast near Taji north of the capital late Sunday, and four soldiers in
a road! side bombing near the northern town of Hawijah on Friday...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=19892&s2=25>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=19892


Iraqi Resistance Report for events of Monday, 23 January 2006
Translated and/or compiled by Muhammad Abu Nasr, member, editorial board,
the Free Arab Voice
In a dispatch posted at 8:50pm Mecca time Monday night, Mafkarat al-Islam
reported that the Iraqi Resistance marksman known as the al-Fallujah Sniper
had shot and killed two more US soldiers on the main road in al-Fallujah,
some 60km west of Baghdad on Monday afternoon. The correspondent for
Mafkarat al-Islam reported eyewitnesses as saying that an Iraqi Resis!
tance bomb exploded by a group of US troops at around 4pm local time Monday
afternoon. As American troops began deploying around the area after the
blast, two of them were cut down by the Resistance sharpshooter’s bullets.
Both died immediately...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=19891&s2=25>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=19891


Investigator: U.S. 'outsourced' torture
JAN SLIVA, Associated Press
The head of a European investigation into alleged CIA secret prisons in
Europe said Tuesday that evidence pointed to the existence of a system of
"outsourcing" of torture by the United States, and that it was highly
likely European governments were aware of it. But Swiss Sen. Dick Marty
said there was no tangible proof so far of the existence of clandestine
centers in Romania or Poland as alleged by the New York-based Human Rights
Watch, and comp! lained of a lack of cooperation by EU governments...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=19913&s2=25>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=19913


Report: Army could be near breaking point
Rapid troop rotations threaten institution, Pentagon-sponsored study says
The Associated Press
Stretched by frequent troop rotations to Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army has
become a "thin green line" that could snap unless relief comes soon,
according to a study for the Pentagon. Andrew Krepinevich, a retired Army
officer who wrote the report under a Pentagon contract, concluded that the
Army cannot sustain the pace of troop deployments to Iraq long enoug! h to
break the back of the insurgency. He also suggested that the Pentagon’s
decision, announced in December, to begin reducing the force in Iraq this
year was driven in part by a realization that the Army was overextended. As
evidence, Krepinevich points to the Army’s 2005 recruiting slump — missing
its recruiting goal for the first time since 1999 — and its decision to
offer much bigger enlistment bonuses and other incentives. "You really
begin to wonder just how much stress and strain there is on the Army, how
much longer it can continue," he said in an interview. He added that the
Army is still a highly effective fighting force and is implementing a plan
that will expand the number of combat brigades available for rotations to
Iraq and Afghanistan...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=19914&s2=25>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=19914


Iraq's Oil Bust
Oil exports were supposed to pay for the reconstruction. Instead they've
been stifled.
Scott Johnson and Michael Hastings, Newsweek
...Only three years ago, before the United States led the invasion of Iraq,
the Bush ad—ministration dreamed of liberating the country on the cheap.
Billions in untapped oil reserves would pay for reconstruction and
nation-building. But hundreds of billions of American tax dollars later,
Iraq's oil still isn't flowing at prewar levels. And in a coun! try where
90 percent of the government's $35 billion in revenues comes from
petroleum, the old promise has come to seem a curse...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=19904&s2=25>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=19904




<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 was
an abuse, or simply if you don't want to receive it any more,
<http://www.uruknet.com/unsub1.php>click here to unsubscribe from the
newsletter.