Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Meanwhile in Iraq

The worst in Iraq is still to come: In the US, Iraq is now primarily an electoral rather than a nation-building, humanitarian or counter-terrorism issue. With the Republicans fighting to retain control of Congress in next month's midterm polls, George Bush's Middle East freedom mission has become a hard-nosed numbers game.

Iraq: Leave Or Be Forced Out: The United States is not militarily capable of preventing the worse war yet to come, and trying to do so would only start a new war between the United States and the Shiites who want the U.S. to leave. Since we cannot prevent sectarian violence, the only question is whether we leave before the inevitable confrontation with Shiites—a battle U.S. troops would certainly lose.

Iraq: At least 73 killed as U.S occupation rages on. 65 bodies were found in different districts of Baghdad since Sunday night, an Interior Ministry source said.

Surge of sectarian violence leaves nearly 100 dead in Iraqi town north of the capital: Four days of sectarian slaughter killed at least 91 people by Monday in Balad, a town near a major U.S. air base an hour’s drive north of the capital. Elsewhere, 60 Iraqis died in attacks and 16 tortured bodies were found.

Iraq Goes Deeper Into Division : A partition would leave Iraq with a weak central government and largely independent states run by Kurds in the north, Shiites in the south and Sunnis in the center and west - giving impetus for still more violence and still further population upheaval.

Blame the Iraqi's: Dennis Ross: A plan for Iraq: Staying the course is a prescription for avoiding reality. But simply setting a deadline and withdrawing might also constitute a form of denial -- denial of what will happen in the region after a precipitous pullout.

The Iraq Study Group: a bipartisan conspiracy against the American and Iraqi people

Iran and Iraq have agreed to share intelligence: Officials said the two countries have established a panel meant to launch an intelligence exchange. They said the group would also explore security cooperation.

More than 3,000 Iraqi police sacked: ministry spokesman: Brigadier General Abdel Karim Khalaf told reporters that 1,228 had been sacked for breaking the law while nearly 2,000 more were dismissed for dereliction of duty.

The courts are starting to accept that the war against Iraq is a crime : In Britain and Ireland, protesters who have deliberately damaged military equipment are walking from the dock

Iraqi Judge Sentences U.S. Citizen To Death After U.S. Military “Demanded” the Man Be Executed: An Iraqi-born US citizen is in a battle to save his life as he tries to avoid execution in Baghdad. But he’s not up against insurgents groups – he’s up against the Iraqi and US governments.

Iraq: More than 77 killed as U.S. occupation grinds on: A total of 46 bodies, with gunshot wounds and bearing signs of torture, were found in Baghdad since Saturday night, an Interior Ministry source said.

Two car bombs kill 20 in Baghdad: Two near simultaneous car bombs killed 20 people and wounded 17 in a mixed neighborhood in northern Baghdad on Monday, an Interior Ministry source said.

Seven US troops killed in Iraq: Seven more US troops have been killed in action in Iraq, bringing the number of American troops to have died this month to 57.

Brother of Saddam prosecutor killed: The brother of the top prosecutor in the second trial of Saddam Hussein was shot dead in front of his wife at his home in the capital Monday

Saddam Says Iraq 'Liberation Is at Hand': Saddam Hussein issued an open letter Monday, saying Iraq's "liberation is at hand" and calling for an end to sectarian killings.

Iraq rebels say they will only negotiate with US: Iraqi nationalist insurgents have told AFP they have begun talks with US forces, after a weekend meeting of Sunni tribal sheikhs called for the restoration of ousted leader Saddam Hussein.

Top US inquiry to call for Iraq policy change : US policy in Iraq is not working and George Bush should consider radical changes, according to a top-level panel backed by the president.

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