[uruknet.info] - [daily information from occupied iraq] - [newsletter 25 Jan 2006 - Part One]

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Killing the Messenger: The Silencing of Journalism in Iraq
Ghali Hassan, Globalresearch.ca
...To put it bluntly, the majority of Western journalists are outright
liars and complicit in war crimes against the Iraqi people. They have no
rights to be part of independent and objective journalism. They are as
guilty of war crimes as George Bush, Tony Blair, Donald Rumsfeld and the
rest. It should be noted that most Iraqis were bewildered to see Western
journalists celebrating U.S. forces ransacking and destroying Iraq! ’s
cultural heritages. Today, only few Western journalists remain impartial
and objective in their duty to report on the U.S. war crimes and the
destruction of Iraq and the Iraqi society. However, those few independent
and objective journalists who challenge power are endangered species, and
may soon extinct if they remain unprotected. According to Reporters without
Borders (RSF), a total of 76 (85 as of May 2005) journalists and media
staff have been killed since the U.S. unprovoked aggression against Iraq
March 2003. That was more than the 63 reporters killed in the 1955-1977
conflict in Vietnam, the group said, citing figures from U.S.-based press
advocacy group Freedom Forum. Iraq was the world's deadliest place for
media members for the third consecutive year since the invasion, said RSF...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=19920&s2=26>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=19920


US Army: Band of brothers or band of thieves?
Truth About Iraqis
Yet another audit, yet another report, and yet another US military officer
caught stealing money in Iraq. "One US military assistant is said to have
gambled away up to $60,000 while accompanying the Iraqi Olympic team to the
Philippines," [the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction
(SIGIR) said]. My, my. And a band of gamblers as well. Reconstruction in
Iraq? Maybe the Americans came to Iraq to show us how corruption,
embezzlement and thi! every are the guiding principles of democracy...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=19922&s2=26>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=19922


Paved With Good Intentions – Iraq Body Count – Part 1
MEDIA LENS: Correcting for the distorted vision of the corporate media
On the rare occasions when the issue of civilian casualties is discussed in
the mainstream media three words are invariably mentioned: Iraq Body Count
(IBC). IBC describes itself as a project which maintains "the world’s only
independent and comprehensive public database of media-reported civilian
deaths in Iraq that have resulted from the 2003 military intervention by
the USA and its allie! s". IBC is often described as an "anti-war" website
– the home page shows an ominous photograph of a Stealth bomber dropping a
stick of bombs (...) IBC is also important because its figures for civilian
deaths in Iraq have been used by the British and American governments, and
by the media, to attack or dismiss higher estimates in other studies...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=19933&s2=26>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=19933


THE FORGOTTEN LETTER
Malcom Lagauche
In the buildup to the illegal U.S. invasion of Iraq in March 2003, many
accusations and documents were put forth by the U.S. making ridiculous
claims of Iraq’s military prowess. We heard, thought former U.S. Secretary
of State, Colin Powell, that the Iraqis were stockpiling weapons of mass
destruction (WMD) as he showed the world a picture of an Iraqi building
with a roof on it. He said they must be hiding something. When the manager
of the plant, that canned mushrooms, was as! ked why there was a roof on
the building, he said, "to keep the rain, wind and dust out." (...) In the
midst of all these preposterous remarks, came a letter from the Iraqi
government to the U.N. Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri presented the
letter to the U.N. in November 2002. The U.S. discounted it as typical
Iraqi lies. However, it was the most accurate account given at that time of
the situation. The letter addressed the accusations by the U.S. and Britain
that it started up its WMD program in earnest after the U.N. pulled its
inspectors from Iraq in 1998. It also stated that Iraq had no WMD before
the inspectors left and it did not make any during the inspectors’ absence.
In other words, it was truthful to the word. Let’s look at the letter
knowing what we do today and you will see how uncanny it is in its
assessment of the Iraqi WMD program and how preposterous the lies brought
against Iraq were...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=19936&s2=26>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=19936


Words to play by
Kaminski’s new book recaps the disintegrating history of the 21st century
John Kaminski, skylax at comcast.net
People are picking on me. They’re calling me a philandering Internet gigolo
Zionist dupe, willingly associating with others of that ignominious ilk.
Hence, everything I say should be disregarded, they insist. Fortunately for
me, I simply stand by my stories, and defy you to tell me I haven’t written
the definitive history of the 21st century thus far. The U.S. government
engineer! ed 9/11 as a pretext for permanent war. This bold plan was
successful because of the media/pharmaceutical anesthesitization of the
American populace over a period of 40 years, from the Kennedy assassination
to the imminent beginning of World War Three in Iran. The real money has
always been made in wars and financial collapses. Current indicators are
that we are about to get both. The responsibility for this chosen course
lies with the corporate establishment, which has gentrified itself right
out of the human species...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=19924&s2=26>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=19924


The Anti-Empire Report: Some things you need to know before the world ends
William Blum
We read about things done and said by the Iraqi president, or the Ministry
of this or the Ministry of that, and it's easy to get the impression that
Iraq is in the process of becoming a sovereign state, albeit not
particularly secular and employing torture, but still, a functioning,
independent state. Then we read about the IMF and the rest of the
international financial mafia -- with the US playing its usual sine qua non
role! -- making large loans to the country and forgiving debts, with the
customary strings attached, in the current instance ending government
subsidies for fuel and other petroleum products. And so the government
starts to reduce the subsidies for these products which affect almost every
important aspect of life, and the prices quickly quintuple, sparking wide
discontent and protests. Who in this sovereign nation wanted to add more
suffering to the already beaten-down Iraqi people?...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=19932&s2=26>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=19932


Let History Judge
Scott Ritter
...In 1946, the Nuremburg Tribunal rejected the German defense of
pre-emption when it came to the invasion of Denmark and Norway in 1940. The
Germans had cited the imminent occupation of these two nations by the armed
forces of France and Great Britain, which would have threatened the German
northern front, as just cause. This defense was rebuked by the tribunal,
led by US Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson, who instead identified
the German action as constituting a "war of agg! ression." Judge Jackson
went on to say that "To initiate a war of aggression, therefore, is not
only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime
differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the
accumulated evil of the whole." Judge Jackson's words, and my steadfast
allegiance to the Constitution of the United States of America, motivated
me to give testimony this past Saturday at the International Commission of
Inquiry on Crimes Against Humanity Committed by the Bush Administration, in
particular in support of the first count put forward by the commission:
that the Bush administration authorized a war of aggression against Iraq...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=19935&s2=26>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=19935


Bush administration launches campaign of lies in defense of government spying
Joe Kay, WSWS
The Bush administration has initiated a campaign to defend its illegal
spying program, employing its well-established technique of brazenly lying
to the American people. The campaign began last week with a speech by Vice
President Dick Cheney on January 19 and one by White House Chief of Staff
Karl Rove on January 20. Rove denounced the mild criticisms made by some
Democrats of the National Security Agency spying program a! s exhibiting a
"pre-9/11" mentality, which "makes them wrong, wrong deeply and profoundly
and consistently." Coming from Rove, these remarks are a clear sign that
the Republican Party plans to run in the 2006 elections on the basis of a
defense of the administration’s criminal policies...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=19934&s2=26>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=19934


Iran's new bourse may threaten the dollar
Linda S. Heard, Online Journal Contributing Writer
In 2000, Saddam Hussein announced that his country would begin pricing its
oil in euros. Less than three years later, Iraq was invaded under the
pretext it had an ongoing nuclear weapons programme and an arsenal of
chemical and biological materials. In March 2006, Iran is scheduled to open
its own oil bourse that will trade in euros. But even before it can open
its doors, Iran is being accused of harbouring a clandestine ! nuclear
weapons programme and is being threatened with sanctions or worse. Is the
current US focus on Iran's nuclear facilities a genuine concern or is this
another pretext to stave off a potential threat to the fiat dollar?...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=19931&s2=26>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=19931


Clumsiness of new “Osama” propaganda: sign of increasing Bush
administration desperation
Larry Chin, Online Journal Associate Editor
Exactly one year ago, in response to a previous bogus "Osama" transmission,
I wrote: "Like previous productions, the tape was conveniently timed to
reinforce and invigorate Washington’s expanding war agenda, keep the
populations of Western nations fearfully compliant and supportive of the
Bush administration’s 'war on terrorism,' further provoke anti-Western
sentiment in the Middle ! East, and distract from exploding political and
economic fault lines all over the world. Analysis of previous alleged Osama
bin Laden videos, and other loudly-promoted 'terror tapes,' 'arrests’ and
'trials,' have been exposed as propaganda, likely produced by operatives of
the Bush administration. We can logically conclude that this work is more
of the same'...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=19930&s2=26>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=19930


GI Special 4A16: "He Felt He Was Being Lied To" - January 24, 2006
Thomas Barton
... Unlike many other soldiers, who said they still believe in the mission,
Sergeant Papadatos said the mission was failing. He also felt he was being
lied to. He recalled standing in a battalion formation and listening to a
general link Iraq to the Sept. 11 attacks. "How stupid do they think we
are?" he said. He said needless deaths were caused every day by everything
from a failure to coordinate with Iraqi paramedics to insurgent! s'
slipping through coalition fingers...


<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=19929&s2=26>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=19929


GI Special 4A15: A Soldier With Tears In His Eyes - January 23, 2006
Thomas Barton
...The real news is buried at the end of this story reporting how U.S.
occupation command has ordered brutal, stupid raids on Iraqi citizens to
help the Iraqi resistance movement recruit new fighters. The real news is
about a soldier with tears in his eyes. Bush, Rumsfeld, and the rest of the
scum who infest Washington have no clue what this means...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=19928&s2=26>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=19928


Grinding Poverty, Insecurity Plague Iraqis: Report
IslamOnline.net
Nearly three years after the US-led invasion-turned-occupation of Iraq,
more Iraqis are falling prey to grinding poverty and countless others are
terrified in the insecurity-marred country. Recent estimates indicated that
one fifth of the onetime rich Iraqis are living below the poverty line
since the US invasion of Iraq in March 2003...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=19927&s2=26>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=19927


Saddam to sue Bush and Blair
UPI
Defence lawyers for Saddam Hussein Wednesday distributed copies of a
lawsuit against President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair for destroying
Iraq. The suit accuses Bush and Blair of committing war crimes by using
weapons of mass destruction and internationally-banned weapons including
enriched uranium and phosphoric and cluster bombs against unarmed Iraqi
civilians, notably in Baghdad, Fallujah, Ramadi, al-Kaem and Anbar...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=19926&s2=26>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=19926


Alito Confirmation: A Straussian Neocon Fait Accompli
Kurt Nimmo, Another day in the empire
...Now, with the confirmation of Alito, these "philosophers" and "absolute
rulers" will finish the task of trashing the "universal principles of
natural law," that is to say the Constitution and the Bill of Rights and
especially Thomas Jefferson’s appeal to unalienable rights in the
Declaration of Independence. Instead of John Locke, we will get Thomas
Hobbes and his theory of bellum omnium contra omnes, or "war of all aga!
inst all," the preferred state of political exchange in the Straussian
world. Of course, the American people are blissfully unaware to all of this
and will—with the advent of another nine eleven, possibly of greater and
more horrible magnitude—be deceived into "clueless servitude" and likely
suffer the fate of the German people as the Weimar republic was
systematically destroyed and Hitler ascended to his throne. Hitler, unlike
Bush and the Straussian neocons, however, didn’t have nuclear weapons at
his disposal...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=19925&s2=26>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=19925


Iraq academics, intellectuals in danger of annihilation
Truth About Iraqis
I have written in past months of the slow and systematic murder of Iraq's
brightest academics and intellectuals - effectively, the core of Iraqi
society able to rebuild Iraq to its former glories. I have repeatedly asked
"How many Iraqi scientists have been killed in the past few years? ... How
many poets and artists have been killed? How many forward-thinking women?"
"... To ensure that Iraqi education never, ever be able to mass produce !
scientists who can so much as make ammonia in a lab. To ensure that no
Iraqi innovators emerge, no Iraqi thinkers, poets, philosophers,
economists"...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=19923&s2=26>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=19923


In crisis, Washington manufactures new tensions
Fred Goldstein, Workers World
The Bush administration, besieged by crises at home and abroad, is
manufacturing new international tensions. It is pushing the government of
Iran up against the wall, demanding that it cede its sovereign right to
develop peaceful nuclear technology. In Iraq in the last week, three U.S.
helicopters have been shot down. The Iraqi resistance has escalated since
the Dec. 15 election as U.S. and Iraqi puppet casualties mount. Washington
has ! announced it is sending 2,000 military police to Iraq to "supervise"
the Iraqi police. This is an open admission that the Pentagon cannot trust
the Iraqi police force...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=19919&s2=26>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=19919


Iraqi Resistance Report for events of Tuesday, 24 January 2006
Translated and/or compiled by Muhammad Abu Nasr, member, editorial board,
the Free Arab Voice
...In a dispatch posted at 3:35pm Mecca time Tuesday afternoon, Mafkarat
al-Islam reported that a young Iraqi woman prisoner is today marking her
400th day in the notorious American Abu Ghurayb prison camp, some 30km west
of Baghdad. The Baghdad correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported that
'A’ishah Ahmad 'Umar of the al-Hurriyah district of Baghdad is 19! years
old and a student in the University’s College of Economic Science, or was
until she was arrested last year from her home on charges of "terrorism"
and "support for terrorism," according to a statement issued by the
occupation forces at the time. Umm 'A’isha, 'A’ishah’s 44-year-old mother,
told Mafkarat al-Islam correspondent, "My daughter today completed her
400th full day in prison, having still not been released."...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=19917&s2=26>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=19917


War on Iran: It's More Than Nuclear
Joshua Frank
... But what’s worrying Washington more than Iranian nukes may be a much
different WMD. In March 2006, Iran is slated to open the long awaited
Iranian Oil Bourse (oil exchange program). Currently the petrodollar is
dominated by US currency, but Iran and other OPEC countries want that to
end. When the bourse opens, Iran will be trading on a euro-oil-trading
system, the first step toward an alternative petrodollar. That could be bad
news for the US. "In economic term! s, this represents [a great threat]
because it will allow anyone willing either to buy or to sell oil for Euro
to transact on the exchange, thus circumventing the U.S. dollar
altogether," writes Krassimir Petrov, an economics professor at the
American University in Bulgaria in a January edition of the Energy
Bulletin...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=19937&s2=26>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=19937


British soldiers take MoD to court over 'medical negligence'
Kim Sengupta
The mental scars suffered by those who have experienced the horrors of the
Iraq conflict have been exposed in a series of medical studies and legal
actions. The first piece of major research charting the psychological
impact of the conflict is expected to show that thousands of members of
Britain's armed forces have returned with problems, including
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The relentless bombings and
shootings, as well as the! intrinsic doubts of being involved in this
particular war, have, say medical specialists, made Iraq the most troubling
combat theatre for soldiers since the Second World War. In the first of
such litigation, 15 British soldiers who recently served in Iraq are suing
the Ministry of Defence over alleged medical negligence...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=19938&s2=26>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.info/?p=19938




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