The Observer | International | Fighting kills 135 children: "Antony Barnett | Sunday January 30, 2005 | The Observer
One hundred and thirty five Iraqi children have been killed in fighting or terrorist attacks in the last five months of 2004, official figures reveal.
For the first time the Iraqi Ministry of Health has released its analysis of the rising death toll among civilians in Iraq. It shows that between 1 July 2004 and 1 December 2004 more than 3,200 Iraqi civilians were killed in total as a result of military activity, either by Coalition forces or insurgent attacks
...
The official figures are certain to cause controversy. Both British and US governments have been reluctant to reveal the number of civilians who have died since the outbreak of war in March 2003.
These new figures suggest 600 civilians are dying a month - which would equate to about 11,000 casualties in the past 18 months. The Foreign Office has refused to comment on the figures.
Sunday, January 30, 2005
BBC sorry for 'mistakes' on count coaltion's victims
Scotland on Sunday - International - BBC sorry for 'mistakes' on count coaltion's victimsSun 30 Jan 2005 | NICHOLAS CHRISTIAN
THE BBC was last night forced to issue an apology after it "misinterpreted" figures and claimed more Iraqi civilians may have been killed by coalition forces and their allies than by insurgents.
The figures, released by the Iraqi Ministry of Health, gave details of Iraqi deaths in the country between July 1 last year and January 1 this year.
They showed 3,274 people died and 12,657 were injured in conflict-related violence. Of these, 2,041 deaths were the result of military operations and 8,542 people were injured. This compares with 1,233 deaths caused by terrorist operations.
The BBC’s Panorama said "military operations" meant those carried out by coalition forces and Iraqi security forces. The programme also categorised all the deaths and injuries as civilian.
But yesterday the Iraqi Ministry of Health disputed this and said those killed in military operations included terrorists and Iraqi security forces. The ministry added that "military operations" referred to Iraqis killed by terrorists as well as by coalition and Iraqi security forces.
The BBC said it "regrets mistakes in its published and broadcast reports yesterday".
THE BBC was last night forced to issue an apology after it "misinterpreted" figures and claimed more Iraqi civilians may have been killed by coalition forces and their allies than by insurgents.
The figures, released by the Iraqi Ministry of Health, gave details of Iraqi deaths in the country between July 1 last year and January 1 this year.
They showed 3,274 people died and 12,657 were injured in conflict-related violence. Of these, 2,041 deaths were the result of military operations and 8,542 people were injured. This compares with 1,233 deaths caused by terrorist operations.
The BBC’s Panorama said "military operations" meant those carried out by coalition forces and Iraqi security forces. The programme also categorised all the deaths and injuries as civilian.
But yesterday the Iraqi Ministry of Health disputed this and said those killed in military operations included terrorists and Iraqi security forces. The ministry added that "military operations" referred to Iraqis killed by terrorists as well as by coalition and Iraqi security forces.
The BBC said it "regrets mistakes in its published and broadcast reports yesterday".
U.K., U.S. Deaths Confirmed in Iraq Plane Crash
Top News Article | Reuters.com: "U.K., U.S. Deaths Confirmed in Iraq Plane Crash | Sun Jan 30, 2005 04:03 PM ET
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A number of British military personnel died when an air force transport plane crashed northwest of Baghdad on Sunday, Prime Minister Tony Blair said.
The C-130 Hercules transport plane involved in the crash can carry up to 92 troops, 64 paratroopers or military equipment.
Blair, in a statement on British television, did not say how many had died but President Bush said both U.S. and British military personnel had lost their lives in the crash.
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A number of British military personnel died when an air force transport plane crashed northwest of Baghdad on Sunday, Prime Minister Tony Blair said.
The C-130 Hercules transport plane involved in the crash can carry up to 92 troops, 64 paratroopers or military equipment.
Blair, in a statement on British television, did not say how many had died but President Bush said both U.S. and British military personnel had lost their lives in the crash.
At Least 232 Civilians Die Doing U.S. Work in Iraq: an increase in the fourth quarter of 2004 of 93 percent.
Excite News: "At Least 232 Civilians Die Doing U.S. Work in Iraq | Jan 30, 4:04 PM (ET) |
By Sue Pleming
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - At least 232 civilians have been killed while working on U.S.-funded contracts in Iraq and the death toll is rising rapidly, according to a U.S. government audit released Sunday.
The quarterly report sent to Congress by the inspector general appointed to audit U.S.-funded work in Iraq said security problems were the biggest obstacle to Iraq's reconstruction and workers faced grave risks daily.
...
More than 1,400 U.S. troops have been killed in Iraq but the U.S. government does not keep an official tally of the number of civilians slain while working on U.S.-funded projects there and in support of U.S. forces.
Bowen cited U.S. Labor Department statistics that showed companies had filed 232 compensation claims under the Defense Base Act (DBA) for workers killed there, an increase in the fourth quarter of 2004 of 93 percent.
By Sue Pleming
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - At least 232 civilians have been killed while working on U.S.-funded contracts in Iraq and the death toll is rising rapidly, according to a U.S. government audit released Sunday.
The quarterly report sent to Congress by the inspector general appointed to audit U.S.-funded work in Iraq said security problems were the biggest obstacle to Iraq's reconstruction and workers faced grave risks daily.
...
More than 1,400 U.S. troops have been killed in Iraq but the U.S. government does not keep an official tally of the number of civilians slain while working on U.S.-funded projects there and in support of U.S. forces.
Bowen cited U.S. Labor Department statistics that showed companies had filed 232 compensation claims under the Defense Base Act (DBA) for workers killed there, an increase in the fourth quarter of 2004 of 93 percent.
Saturday, January 29, 2005
US and allies 'kill most Iraqis': 60% more non-combatants in Iraq than the insurgents
BBC NEWS | Programmes | Panorama | US and allies 'kill most Iraqis': "BBC One, Sunday, 30 January 2005 at 22:15 GMT |
Coalition and Iraqi troops may be responsible for killing 60% more non-combatants in Iraq than the insurgents, the BBC has learned.
The civilian death toll for the last six months is contained in confidential records obtained by Panorama
...
The figures reveal that 3,274 Iraqi civilians were killed and 12,657 wounded in conflict-related violence during the period.
Of those deaths, 60% - 2,041 civilians - were killed by the coalition and Iraqi security forces. A further 8,542 were wounded by them.
Insurgent attacks claimed 1,233 lives, and wounded 4,115 people, during the same period.
Coalition and Iraqi troops may be responsible for killing 60% more non-combatants in Iraq than the insurgents, the BBC has learned.
The civilian death toll for the last six months is contained in confidential records obtained by Panorama
...
The figures reveal that 3,274 Iraqi civilians were killed and 12,657 wounded in conflict-related violence during the period.
Of those deaths, 60% - 2,041 civilians - were killed by the coalition and Iraqi security forces. A further 8,542 were wounded by them.
Insurgent attacks claimed 1,233 lives, and wounded 4,115 people, during the same period.
Monday, January 24, 2005
The Invasion of Falluja: A Study in the Subversion of Truth
The Invasion of Falluja: A Study in the Subversion of Truth: "The Invasion of Falluja: A Study in the Subversion of Truth | by Mary Trotochaud and Rick McDowell
01/23/05 'Peacework' -- The illegal invasion, occupation, and subsequent violence perpetrated on the people of Iraq has lent considerable evidence to the assertion that truth is the first casualty of war.
...
Falluja should go down in history as a case study on how truth is subverted, co-opted, buried, and ignored. The first US-led siege of Falluja, a city of 300,000 people, resulted in a defeat for Coalition forces. Prior to the second siege in November, its citizens were given two choices: leave the city or risk dying as enemy insurgents. ...
Under threat of a new siege, an estimated 50,000 families or 250,000 people fled Falluja. ....
What of the estimated 50,000 residents who did not leave Falluja? The US military suggested there were a couple of thousand insurgents in the city before the siege, but in the end chose to treat all the remaining inhabitants as enemy combatants.
...
Preliminary estimates are as high as 6,000 Iraqis killed, a third of the city destroyed, and over 200,000 civilians living as refugees. ...
...
During the months of October and November, 338 Iraqis associated with the "new" government or with Americans were assassinated.
...
"In order to save the village, we had to destroy it." This chilling mantra from the Vietnam era is never far from our consciousness.
01/23/05 'Peacework' -- The illegal invasion, occupation, and subsequent violence perpetrated on the people of Iraq has lent considerable evidence to the assertion that truth is the first casualty of war.
...
Falluja should go down in history as a case study on how truth is subverted, co-opted, buried, and ignored. The first US-led siege of Falluja, a city of 300,000 people, resulted in a defeat for Coalition forces. Prior to the second siege in November, its citizens were given two choices: leave the city or risk dying as enemy insurgents. ...
Under threat of a new siege, an estimated 50,000 families or 250,000 people fled Falluja. ....
What of the estimated 50,000 residents who did not leave Falluja? The US military suggested there were a couple of thousand insurgents in the city before the siege, but in the end chose to treat all the remaining inhabitants as enemy combatants.
...
Preliminary estimates are as high as 6,000 Iraqis killed, a third of the city destroyed, and over 200,000 civilians living as refugees. ...
...
During the months of October and November, 338 Iraqis associated with the "new" government or with Americans were assassinated.
...
"In order to save the village, we had to destroy it." This chilling mantra from the Vietnam era is never far from our consciousness.
Friday, January 21, 2005
Dancing the War Away: Bush was taking the oath of office, news wires were churning out stories about the tragic mayhem in Iraq
The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: Dancing the War Away: "By BOB HERBERT Published: January 21, 2005
Watching the inaugural ceremonies yesterday reminded me of the scenes near the end of "The Godfather" in which a solemn occasion (a baptism in the movie) is interspersed with a series of spectacularly violent murders.
Even as President Bush was taking the oath of office and delivering his Inaugural Address beneath the clear, cold skies of Washington, the news wires were churning out stories about the tragic mayhem in Iraq. There is no end in sight to the carnage, which was unleashed nearly two years ago by President Bush's decision to launch this wholly unnecessary war, one of the worst presidential decisions in American history.
Incredibly, with more than 1,360 American troops dead and more than 10,000 wounded, and with scores of thousands of Iraqis dead and wounded, the president never once mentioned the word Iraq in his Inaugural Address. He avoided all but the most general references to the war. Lyndon Johnson used to agonize over the war that unraveled his presidency. Mr. Bush, riding the crest of his re-election wave, seems not to be similarly bothered.
Watching the inaugural ceremonies yesterday reminded me of the scenes near the end of "The Godfather" in which a solemn occasion (a baptism in the movie) is interspersed with a series of spectacularly violent murders.
Even as President Bush was taking the oath of office and delivering his Inaugural Address beneath the clear, cold skies of Washington, the news wires were churning out stories about the tragic mayhem in Iraq. There is no end in sight to the carnage, which was unleashed nearly two years ago by President Bush's decision to launch this wholly unnecessary war, one of the worst presidential decisions in American history.
Incredibly, with more than 1,360 American troops dead and more than 10,000 wounded, and with scores of thousands of Iraqis dead and wounded, the president never once mentioned the word Iraq in his Inaugural Address. He avoided all but the most general references to the war. Lyndon Johnson used to agonize over the war that unraveled his presidency. Mr. Bush, riding the crest of his re-election wave, seems not to be similarly bothered.
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Film reveals true destruction to ghost city Falluja: bodies (civilians?) laying around
Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | Film reveals true destruction to ghost city Falluja: "Rory McCarthy in Baghdad | Tuesday January 11, 2005 | The Guardian
Fresh evidence has emerged of the extent of destruction and appalling conditions in Falluja, still deserted two months after a major US offensive against the insurgent stronghold.
Ali Fadhil, an Iraqi journalist working with the Guardian's film unit and one of the few reporters to travel independently to Falluja, describes in a Channel 4 News film tonight a 'city of ghosts' where dogs feed on uncollected corpses.
...
"It is completely devastated," Fadhil writes in the Guardian today. "Falluja used to be a modern city; now there is nothing. We spend that first day going through the rubble that had been the centre of the city; I don't see a single building that is functioning."
...
But in a graveyard, known as the "martyrs cemetery", Fadhil counts only 76 graves. In houses he finds other bodies he suspects were civilians.
"I saw other rotting bodies that showed no sign of being fighters. In one house in the market there were four bodies inside the guestroom," he writes. "In this house there were no bullets in the walls, just four dead men lying curled up beside each other, with bullet holes in the mosquito nets that covered the windows."
The allegations were put to US forces in Baghdad five days ago. There has been no reply.
Fresh evidence has emerged of the extent of destruction and appalling conditions in Falluja, still deserted two months after a major US offensive against the insurgent stronghold.
Ali Fadhil, an Iraqi journalist working with the Guardian's film unit and one of the few reporters to travel independently to Falluja, describes in a Channel 4 News film tonight a 'city of ghosts' where dogs feed on uncollected corpses.
...
"It is completely devastated," Fadhil writes in the Guardian today. "Falluja used to be a modern city; now there is nothing. We spend that first day going through the rubble that had been the centre of the city; I don't see a single building that is functioning."
...
But in a graveyard, known as the "martyrs cemetery", Fadhil counts only 76 graves. In houses he finds other bodies he suspects were civilians.
"I saw other rotting bodies that showed no sign of being fighters. In one house in the market there were four bodies inside the guestroom," he writes. "In this house there were no bullets in the walls, just four dead men lying curled up beside each other, with bullet holes in the mosquito nets that covered the windows."
The allegations were put to US forces in Baghdad five days ago. There has been no reply.
Sunday, January 09, 2005
MSNBC - �The Salvador Option�
MSNBC - �The Salvador Option�: "
The Pentagon may put Special-Forces-led assassination or kidnapping teams in Iraq | WEB EXCLUSIVE |
By Michael Hirsh and John Barry | Newsweek | Updated: 10:22 a.m. ET Jan. 9, 2005
Jan. 8 - What to do about the deepening quagmire of Iraq? The Pentagon’s latest approach is being called "the Salvador option"—and the fact that it is being discussed at all is a measure of just how worried Donald Rumsfeld really is. "What everyone agrees is that we can’t just go on as we are," one senior military officer told NEWSWEEK. "We have to find a way to take the offensive against the insurgents. Right now, we are playing defense. And we are losing." Last November’s operation in Fallujah, most analysts agree, succeeded less in breaking "the back" of the insurgency—as Marine Gen. John Sattler optimistically declared at the time—than in spreading it out.
Now, NEWSWEEK has learned, the Pentagon is intensively debating an option that dates back to a still-secret strategy in the Reagan administration’s battle against the leftist guerrilla insurgency in El Salvador in the early 1980s. Then, faced with a losing war against Salvadoran rebels, the U.S. government funded or supported "nationalist" forces that allegedly included so-called death squads directed to hunt down and kill rebel leaders and sympathizers. Eventually the insurgency was quelled, and many U.S. conservatives consider the policy to have been a success—despite the deaths of innocent civilians and the subsequent Iran-Contra arms-for-hostages scandal. (Among the current administration officials who dealt with Central America back then is John Negroponte, who is today the U.S. ambassador to Iraq. Under Reagan, he was ambassador to Honduras.)
The Pentagon may put Special-Forces-led assassination or kidnapping teams in Iraq | WEB EXCLUSIVE |
By Michael Hirsh and John Barry | Newsweek | Updated: 10:22 a.m. ET Jan. 9, 2005
Jan. 8 - What to do about the deepening quagmire of Iraq? The Pentagon’s latest approach is being called "the Salvador option"—and the fact that it is being discussed at all is a measure of just how worried Donald Rumsfeld really is. "What everyone agrees is that we can’t just go on as we are," one senior military officer told NEWSWEEK. "We have to find a way to take the offensive against the insurgents. Right now, we are playing defense. And we are losing." Last November’s operation in Fallujah, most analysts agree, succeeded less in breaking "the back" of the insurgency—as Marine Gen. John Sattler optimistically declared at the time—than in spreading it out.
Now, NEWSWEEK has learned, the Pentagon is intensively debating an option that dates back to a still-secret strategy in the Reagan administration’s battle against the leftist guerrilla insurgency in El Salvador in the early 1980s. Then, faced with a losing war against Salvadoran rebels, the U.S. government funded or supported "nationalist" forces that allegedly included so-called death squads directed to hunt down and kill rebel leaders and sympathizers. Eventually the insurgency was quelled, and many U.S. conservatives consider the policy to have been a success—despite the deaths of innocent civilians and the subsequent Iran-Contra arms-for-hostages scandal. (Among the current administration officials who dealt with Central America back then is John Negroponte, who is today the U.S. ambassador to Iraq. Under Reagan, he was ambassador to Honduras.)
South of Baghdad: US troops strike ack at the wrong target: 5 Iragi dead (2 police, 3 civilians)
Excite News: "US Troops Kill Iraq Civilians in Botched Strikes | Jan 9, 9:11 AM (ET) | By Matt Spetalnick
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. troops targeted by a roadside bomb mistakenly killed two Iraqi policemen and two bystanders hours after an American warplane bombed the wrong house, exacting a heavy civilian toll, Iraqi officials said.
...
Shortly afterwards, a U.S. military convoy was hit by a explosion near a police checkpoint south of Baghdad in an lawless area known as the "Triangle of Death."
Troops escorting the vehicles struck back but at the wrong target, Interior Ministry spokesman Adnan Abdul-Rahman said. Two police officers and two civilians were killed. He said a fifth Iraqi suffered a heart attack and died at the scene.
...
"Why did these poor people have to die?" lamented Baghdad taxi driver Doraid Abdul Khaliq, 28. "Bombing, shooting and running a tank over cars have all become something normal."
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. troops targeted by a roadside bomb mistakenly killed two Iraqi policemen and two bystanders hours after an American warplane bombed the wrong house, exacting a heavy civilian toll, Iraqi officials said.
...
Shortly afterwards, a U.S. military convoy was hit by a explosion near a police checkpoint south of Baghdad in an lawless area known as the "Triangle of Death."
Troops escorting the vehicles struck back but at the wrong target, Interior Ministry spokesman Adnan Abdul-Rahman said. Two police officers and two civilians were killed. He said a fifth Iraqi suffered a heart attack and died at the scene.
...
"Why did these poor people have to die?" lamented Baghdad taxi driver Doraid Abdul Khaliq, 28. "Bombing, shooting and running a tank over cars have all become something normal."
Saturday, January 08, 2005
Aaytha, south of the city of Mosul: f16 drops 500 pound bomb: Wrong house! 14 Iraqi civlians dead
Excite News: "Several Killed as U.S. Bombs Wrong Target in Iraq | Jan 8, 6:05 PM (ET) | By Namir Noureldine
AAYTHA, Iraq (Reuters) - A U.S. warplane mistakenly bombed a house in northern Iraq on Saturday, killing several people in an attack likely to inflame anti-American anger ahead of controversial elections due at the end of the month.
Furious residents of the village of Aaytha, south of the city of Mosul, said the air strike flattened a villa and killed 14 civilians. Reuters television pictures showed 14 freshly dug graves after the bombing in the early hours of Saturday.
The U.S. military said at least five people died after an F-16 warplane dropped a 500-pound bomb on the wrong target."
AAYTHA, Iraq (Reuters) - A U.S. warplane mistakenly bombed a house in northern Iraq on Saturday, killing several people in an attack likely to inflame anti-American anger ahead of controversial elections due at the end of the month.
Furious residents of the village of Aaytha, south of the city of Mosul, said the air strike flattened a villa and killed 14 civilians. Reuters television pictures showed 14 freshly dug graves after the bombing in the early hours of Saturday.
The U.S. military said at least five people died after an F-16 warplane dropped a 500-pound bomb on the wrong target."
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