Sunday, October 15, 2006

Meanwhile in Iraq

Iraq: 4 U.S. occupation force soldiers among 95 killed: Militiamen in pickup trucks set up fake checkpoints on Saturday, killing at least 31 people in the town of Balad.

Death toll climbs to 63 in tit-for-tat sectarian killings north of occupied Baghdad : Suspected Shiite militiamen killed at least 46 Sunni Arabs in a weekend rampage of revenge killing in a city north of Baghdad, an Interior Ministry official said Sunday, raising the toll in the latest sectarian bloodletting there to 63.

Iraqis call for five-man junta to end the anarchy: Dr Saleh al-Mutlak, a prominent Sunni politician, travelled to Arab capitals last week seeking support for the replacement of the present government with a group of five strongmen who would impose martial law and either dissolve parliament or halt its participation in day-to-day government.

Lack of confidence in Maliki government grows: Since Iraq's first permanent government was elected, security has eroded by nearly every measure, despite the U.S. training of more than 300,000 Iraqi police and soldiers. When the government came into power, 65 bodies on average were appearing on Iraq's streets a day; today, 100 are killed daily.

What about all those purple fingers?: David Brooks has incredible access to the White House so when he said this shocker on "The Chris Matthews Show," I believed him. Bush is thinking about replacing the entire Iraq government. I kid you not.

Government postpones critical reconciliation conference: The government on Sunday postponed indefinitely a much-anticipated national reconciliation conference aimed at shoring up Iraq's brittle political system, citing "emergency reasons."

Iraqi federalism vote: Behind the contradictory numbers : The NYT reporting of this as a routine vote and another small step in the right direction, is about as misleading as it can be.

Iraq: Group claims establishment of Islamic state: The Mujahedeen Shura Council, an umbrella organization of insurgent groups in Iraq, said the new state was made up of six provinces including Baghdad that have large Sunni populations and parts of two other southern provinces that are predominantly Shiite.

There was a plan for Iraq - but it was torn up: Garner drew up detailed plans and, at his first briefing with President Bush, outlined three essential "musts" that would, he asserted, ensure a smooth transition after the war.

It's time to say sorry for Iraq's agony : General Sir Richard Dannatt, the army's biggest gun, has blown apart Blair's promises and exposed the disaster our leaders try to hide.

Call For New Direction In Iraq: Republican senators Hagel and Warner say situation is getting worse and the U.S. has few options.

Whispering campaign against General who spoke up against Blair: Britain's top General was the subject of a vicious Whitehall whispering campaign yesterday as Labour ministers furious at his devastating outburst over Iraq called for him to be sacked.

Iraq: At least 49 killed in another bloody day of U.S. occupation: At least 25 bodies were found in different parts of Baghdad over the last 24 hours, police said. The bodies bore signs of torture and had gunshot wounds.

Ten-strong Iraqi family murdered in sectarian cleansing: Late on Friday night, gunmen attacked a farmhouse in Saifiyah and killed an entire family, including five women and three children, in an attack apparently motivated by sectarian hatred.

U.S. airman killed in occupied Iraq: More than 40 U.S. troops have been killed in Iraq this month. At the current pace, the month would be the deadliest for U.S. forces since January 2005

"Silent" Iraqi exodus from violence fuelling asylum flow to Europe: Iraq is suffering from a "steady, silent exodus" of more than 40,000 people a month fleeing violence and the flow of refugees towards Europe is growing, the UN refugee agency has said.

Blair devastated as Army chief savages his approach to Iraq : The authority of Tony Blair was left battered last night as he attempted to play down a rift with the head of the British Army over his unprecedented warning that the presence of foreign troops was "exacerbating" the security situation in Iraq.

British soldiers respond to Army chief: 'At last, someone told the truth' : I'm overjoyed that someone in a senior position has finally had the moral fortitude to forget the spin, forget the politics and just stand up and speak the truth - Danvnuk.

Half of UK troops 'must leave Iraq' : Military chiefs warned the government six months ago that the war in Afghanistan would fail without huge military back-up.

At least 40 killed in ongoing U.S. occupation: The bodies of 14 workers, their throats slit and their hands and legs bound, were found in an orchard near Dhuluiya, a town 40 km (25 miles) north of Baghdad

9 Killed as curfew imposed in Mosul : a curfew was imposed in the northern city of Mosul after fierce overnight clashes left eight insurgents and one police lieutenant dead, said police Colonel Abdel Karim al-Juburi.

Two British "contractors" killed in bombing south of Baghdad: Two British "security contractors" were killed after an explosive device targeted the US military engineering team they were accompanying between the cities of Karbala and Najaf, said an Iraqi security source on Friday.

Iraq loses 25 police to violence each day: Violence in Iraq forces the interior ministry to budget a loss of 25 police officers each day to death or permanent injury, a US security advisor said.

9 Marines Killed In occupied Iraq Identified: Defense Department Says All Died Fighting In Anbar Province Within The Last Week

U.S. Casualties Surge Amid Worsening Iraq Occupation: At least 44 U.S. troops have been killed so far in October. At the current pace, the month would be the deadliest for U.S. forces since January 2005.

U.S marines accused of murdering British journalist: A Coroner is to ask the UK's attorney general to consider bringing charges against US troops who killed ITN reporter Terry Lloyd in southern Iraq.

Democracy Now! Interview: Co-Author of Medical Study Estimating 650,000 Iraqi Deaths Defends Research: Les Roberts joins us now from Syracuse, New York -- He is one of the main researchers of the study. He was with Johns Hopkins when he co-authored the study but has just taken a post at Columbia University.

Why is the American press silent on the report of 655,000 Iraqi deaths?: By any objective standard, the report merits front-page coverage in every major newspaper in the country and extensive discussion and reporting on television news broadcasts. Yet the response of the US press has been to virtually ignore the report and limit its coverage to news accounts on inside pages

Kathy Kelly: When Evil Doing Comes Like Falling Rain: UN reports estimate that one out of every four Iraqi children suffers from acute malnourishment. The colloquial word for this condition is "wasting."

UK Government stunned by Army chief's Iraq blast: General Sir Richard Dannatt said troops should come home within two years - flatly contradicting the Prime Minister's policy that the military will stay "as long as it takes". In unprecedented comments he warned that the Army could 'break' if British soldiers are kept too long in Iraq.

British Army Chief Says Troops Should Be Pulled Out Of Iraq : Tony Blair has received a public warning from the country's most senior military commander that the British presence in Iraq is threatening disaster there and in the UK.

General Clarifies Iraq Comment: After suggesting that British troops be withdrawn from Iraq, Gen. Richard Dannatt, is backpedaling through the firestorm his comment caused.

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