String of Explosions Kills 50 in Iraq: "Secondary Blasts Place Rescuers at Risk; 3 U.S. Soldiers Among Dead | By Naseer Nouri and Bassam Sebti | Washington Post Foreign Service | Saturday, April 30, 2005; Page A01
BAGHDAD, April 29 -- After four waves of bombs, suicide attacks and mortars detonated Friday in the Adhamiyah neighborhood in the capital, a woman trapped in a charred, overturned van and cradling an infant in her arms screamed for help. But help was slow in coming. Security forces in some areas held back ambulances for more than an hour, fearful of more explosions aimed at rescuers."
Saturday, April 30, 2005
Sunday, April 24, 2005
Terrified US soldiers are still killing civilians with impunity, while the dead go uncounted
News: "Terrified US soldiers are still killing civilians with impunity, while the dead go uncounted | By Patrick Cockburn | 24 April 2005
An American patrol roared past us with the soldiers gesturing furiously with their guns for traffic to keep back on an overpass in central Baghdad. A black car with three young men in it did not stop in time and a soldier fired several shots from his machine gun into its engine.
The driver and his friends were not hit, but many Iraqis do not survive casual encounters with US soldiers. It is very easy to be accidentally killed in Iraq. US soldiers treat everybody as a potential suicide bomber. If they are right they have saved their lives and if they are wrong they face no penalty.
"We should end the immunity of US soldiers here," says Dr Mahmoud Othman, a veteran Kurdish politician who argues that the failure to prosecute American soldiers who have killed civilians is one of the reasons why the occupation became so unpopular so fast. He admits, however, that this is extremely unlikely to happen given the US attitude to any sanctions against its own forces.
Every Iraqi has stories of friends or relatives killed by US troops for no adequate reason. Often they do not know if they were shot by regular soldiers or by members of western security companies whose burly employees, usually ex-soldiers, are everywhere in Iraq. ...
An American patrol roared past us with the soldiers gesturing furiously with their guns for traffic to keep back on an overpass in central Baghdad. A black car with three young men in it did not stop in time and a soldier fired several shots from his machine gun into its engine.
The driver and his friends were not hit, but many Iraqis do not survive casual encounters with US soldiers. It is very easy to be accidentally killed in Iraq. US soldiers treat everybody as a potential suicide bomber. If they are right they have saved their lives and if they are wrong they face no penalty.
"We should end the immunity of US soldiers here," says Dr Mahmoud Othman, a veteran Kurdish politician who argues that the failure to prosecute American soldiers who have killed civilians is one of the reasons why the occupation became so unpopular so fast. He admits, however, that this is extremely unlikely to happen given the US attitude to any sanctions against its own forces.
Every Iraqi has stories of friends or relatives killed by US troops for no adequate reason. Often they do not know if they were shot by regular soldiers or by members of western security companies whose burly employees, usually ex-soldiers, are everywhere in Iraq. ...
Monday, March 14, 2005
US helicopter opens fire in Mosul, wounds five civilians: Iraqi witness report 3 killed, woman and 2 children
US helicopter opens fire in Mosul, wounds five civilians: "US helicopter opens fire in Mosul, wounds five civilians | Published: 3/13/2005"
MOSUL, Iraq - At least five Iraqi civilians, including a woman, were wounded Sunday in the northern city of Mosul when a US military helicopter opened fire on insurgents, the US military and witnesses said.
"The helicopter was ... engaged by small arms fire from a nearby building. The helicopter returned fire," the military said, in response to a query.
"At least five Iraqi citizens were injured in the crossfire. The civilians were transported to a local hospital for treatment. An investigation of the incident is underway."
According to witnesses and hospital sources, three people were killed, including a woman and two children.
MOSUL, Iraq - At least five Iraqi civilians, including a woman, were wounded Sunday in the northern city of Mosul when a US military helicopter opened fire on insurgents, the US military and witnesses said.
"The helicopter was ... engaged by small arms fire from a nearby building. The helicopter returned fire," the military said, in response to a query.
"At least five Iraqi citizens were injured in the crossfire. The civilians were transported to a local hospital for treatment. An investigation of the incident is underway."
According to witnesses and hospital sources, three people were killed, including a woman and two children.
Iraq Toll Makes 2004 Worst Year for Press in a Decade
Iraq Toll Makes 2004 Worst Year for Press in a Decade: "Monday, March 14, 2005 by the Inter-Press Service | by Katherine Stapp
NEW YORK -- Violence in Iraq claimed the lives of 23 journalists and 16 media support workers in 2004, making it the most deadly year for press freedom in a decade, according to the annual report of the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
At least 22 journalists were also abducted by insurgents, and one was executed by his captors.
In a reversal of the situation in 2003, when foreign journalists accounted for all but two of the casualties, Iraqis bore the brunt of the violence last year. Of the 39 killed in the violence-wracked country, 33 were local reporters and media workers.
...
Overall, 56 journalists were killed on the job. Deliberate murder was the cause of death in 36 cases; in all but nine, the killings were carried out with impunity.
NEW YORK -- Violence in Iraq claimed the lives of 23 journalists and 16 media support workers in 2004, making it the most deadly year for press freedom in a decade, according to the annual report of the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
At least 22 journalists were also abducted by insurgents, and one was executed by his captors.
In a reversal of the situation in 2003, when foreign journalists accounted for all but two of the casualties, Iraqis bore the brunt of the violence last year. Of the 39 killed in the violence-wracked country, 33 were local reporters and media workers.
...
Overall, 56 journalists were killed on the job. Deliberate murder was the cause of death in 36 cases; in all but nine, the killings were carried out with impunity.
Sunday, March 13, 2005
Bulgaria Says U.S. Admits Fault in Soldier's Death: U.S. forces had admitted they broke their rules of engagement
Yahoo! News - Bulgaria Says U.S. Admits Fault in Soldier's Death: "Sat Mar 12, 2:36 PM ET
SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria said Saturday U.S. forces had admitted they broke their rules of engagement last week when a unit fired on a Bulgarian patrol in Iraq (news - web sites), killing a soldier.
'The U.S. side has established that U.S. troops ... did not put enough effort into identifying the objects moving on the road and, without warning shots, as regulated, opened fire,' the defense ministry said in a statement."
SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria said Saturday U.S. forces had admitted they broke their rules of engagement last week when a unit fired on a Bulgarian patrol in Iraq (news - web sites), killing a soldier.
'The U.S. side has established that U.S. troops ... did not put enough effort into identifying the objects moving on the road and, without warning shots, as regulated, opened fire,' the defense ministry said in a statement."
Monday, March 07, 2005
Bulgaria presses Washington over 'friendly fire' death in Iraq after one of its soldiers was shot dead
Bulgaria presses Washington over 'friendly fire' death in Iraq: "Published: 3/7/2005"
by Vessela Sergueva
SOFIA - Bulgaria joined Italy on Monday in seeking answers from Washington after one of its soldiers was shot dead in a US "friendly fire" incident in Iraq, on the same day US forces killed an Italian secret agent rescuing a hostage in the country.
President Georgi Parvanov told the US ambassador to Sofia, James Pardew, that Bulgaria was "conducting a serious investigation of the incident and will demand that those to blame assume their responsibility."
Parvanov said he also expected the United States to carry out a "serious" investigation to determine reponsibility for the incident, his office said.
Bulgaria's Defence Minister Nikolay Svinarov said on Monday that US friendly fire was to blame for the death on Friday of a Bulgarian machinegunner, killed as his unit patrolled some 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Baghdad.
"The information we have allows us to say with reasonable certainty that soldier Gardi Gardev was killed by friendly fire," Svinarov said, confirming an anonymous claim posted on a Bulgarian army website earlier on Monday. ...
by Vessela Sergueva
SOFIA - Bulgaria joined Italy on Monday in seeking answers from Washington after one of its soldiers was shot dead in a US "friendly fire" incident in Iraq, on the same day US forces killed an Italian secret agent rescuing a hostage in the country.
President Georgi Parvanov told the US ambassador to Sofia, James Pardew, that Bulgaria was "conducting a serious investigation of the incident and will demand that those to blame assume their responsibility."
Parvanov said he also expected the United States to carry out a "serious" investigation to determine reponsibility for the incident, his office said.
Bulgaria's Defence Minister Nikolay Svinarov said on Monday that US friendly fire was to blame for the death on Friday of a Bulgarian machinegunner, killed as his unit patrolled some 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Baghdad.
"The information we have allows us to say with reasonable certainty that soldier Gardi Gardev was killed by friendly fire," Svinarov said, confirming an anonymous claim posted on a Bulgarian army website earlier on Monday. ...
Iraq death toll hits new mark; [1500 US dead] did you notice?
Chicago Tribune | Iraq death toll hits new mark; did you notice?: "Published March 7, 2005
We passed another marker in this war on terror last week. The U.S. military death toll in Iraq hit 1,500.
Did you know? Yes, there were stories about it in the national news, small and elusive at times, nothing compared to the stories about Martha and her sleek SUV ride out of the clink. In the local accounts, any mention of the 1,500 was often even less prominent."
We passed another marker in this war on terror last week. The U.S. military death toll in Iraq hit 1,500.
Did you know? Yes, there were stories about it in the national news, small and elusive at times, nothing compared to the stories about Martha and her sleek SUV ride out of the clink. In the local accounts, any mention of the 1,500 was often even less prominent."
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Yahoo! News - Not enough evidence to charge marine in point-blank Fallujah shooting
Yahoo! News - Not enough evidence to charge marine in point-blank Fallujah shooting: "
WASHINGTON (AFP) - A US marine, captured on film killing a wounded Iraqi at point blank range during November's assault on Fallujah, will not be formally charged due to lack of evidence."
The November 13 shooting occurred during a search of a mosque in a widely broadcast incident that sparked worldwide outrage and was described by the International Committee of the Red Cross as a demonstration of "utter contempt for humanity."
In the incident, a trooper raised his rifle and shot point blank at an apparently unarmed, wounded Iraqi who was slumped against one of the mosque walls, in footage captured by an embedded cameraman working for the NBC network.
Although the insurgents were found to be unarmed, investigators said the one the Marine believed he had seen moving could have been reaching for a weapon.
WASHINGTON (AFP) - A US marine, captured on film killing a wounded Iraqi at point blank range during November's assault on Fallujah, will not be formally charged due to lack of evidence."
The November 13 shooting occurred during a search of a mosque in a widely broadcast incident that sparked worldwide outrage and was described by the International Committee of the Red Cross as a demonstration of "utter contempt for humanity."
In the incident, a trooper raised his rifle and shot point blank at an apparently unarmed, wounded Iraqi who was slumped against one of the mosque walls, in footage captured by an embedded cameraman working for the NBC network.
Although the insurgents were found to be unarmed, investigators said the one the Marine believed he had seen moving could have been reaching for a weapon.
Monday, February 21, 2005
Accused by American leaders of brain washing their people, of using state-sponsored propaganda
Watch Your Metaphors, Please! :: Intervention Magazine :: War, Politics, Culture
...
MARK SHIELDS: It’s a great screenplay. It's a great screenplay. It really is. The president spending political capital. Rich is right. Jim, we can’t call them town hall meetings. They aren’t town hall meetings; they’re pep rallies, they’re pre-selected. You can't get in there unless you've signed on, unless you've drunk the Kool-Aid and said you’re totally with the president. So these are not town meetings.
JIM LEHRER: [sternly] Watch your metaphors, please!
MARK SHIELDS: [defensively] It really is. They’re pep rallies. And I think Rich is absolutely right. The president is behind the eight ball on this politically.
This was on PBS, the American citizens’ television station. I was witnessing the chillingly tragic consequence of the Bush Administration’s attempts at public mind control.
This dawned on me because I’d just returned to the 'States' after having spent three weeks working on a project in recently freed Eastern Europe. The irony of this is that pre-Cold War communist countries were repeatedly accused by American leaders of brain washing their people, of using state-sponsored propaganda, and a plethora of other approaches to public mind control. Now, the Bush Administration had successfully accomplished with subtlety what the Soviet Union had been unable to do with its heavy handed approach.
In Bush’s world, American journalists must be careful of what they think -- and especially say – when their comments are carried on the airwaves.
...
MARK SHIELDS: It’s a great screenplay. It's a great screenplay. It really is. The president spending political capital. Rich is right. Jim, we can’t call them town hall meetings. They aren’t town hall meetings; they’re pep rallies, they’re pre-selected. You can't get in there unless you've signed on, unless you've drunk the Kool-Aid and said you’re totally with the president. So these are not town meetings.
JIM LEHRER: [sternly] Watch your metaphors, please!
MARK SHIELDS: [defensively] It really is. They’re pep rallies. And I think Rich is absolutely right. The president is behind the eight ball on this politically.
This was on PBS, the American citizens’ television station. I was witnessing the chillingly tragic consequence of the Bush Administration’s attempts at public mind control.
This dawned on me because I’d just returned to the 'States' after having spent three weeks working on a project in recently freed Eastern Europe. The irony of this is that pre-Cold War communist countries were repeatedly accused by American leaders of brain washing their people, of using state-sponsored propaganda, and a plethora of other approaches to public mind control. Now, the Bush Administration had successfully accomplished with subtlety what the Soviet Union had been unable to do with its heavy handed approach.
In Bush’s world, American journalists must be careful of what they think -- and especially say – when their comments are carried on the airwaves.
Official Total of 1,532 US Dead to date: possibly thousands not counted? (U.S. Military Personnel who died in German hospitals or en route to German
TBRNews.orgThe Bush Butcher’s Bill: 30 US Military Deaths in Iraq from 1 through 13 February 2005 – Official Total of 1,532 US Dead to date (and rising) | by Brian Harring, Domestic Intelligence Reporter
U.S. Military Personnel who died in German hospitals or en route to German hospitals are not counted. They total about 6,210 as of 1 January, 2005.
Note: There is excellent reason to believe that the Department of Defense is deliberately not reporting a significant number of the dead in Iraq. We have received copies of manifests from the MATS that show far more bodies shipped into Dover AFP than are reported officially. The educated rumor is that the actual death toll is in excess of 7,000. Given the officially acknowledged number of over 15,000 seriously wounded, this elevated death toll is far more realistic than the current 1,400+ now being officially published. When our research is complete, and watertight, we will publish the results along with the sources. Ed
U.S. Military Personnel who died in German hospitals or en route to German hospitals are not counted. They total about 6,210 as of 1 January, 2005.
Note: There is excellent reason to believe that the Department of Defense is deliberately not reporting a significant number of the dead in Iraq. We have received copies of manifests from the MATS that show far more bodies shipped into Dover AFP than are reported officially. The educated rumor is that the actual death toll is in excess of 7,000. Given the officially acknowledged number of over 15,000 seriously wounded, this elevated death toll is far more realistic than the current 1,400+ now being officially published. When our research is complete, and watertight, we will publish the results along with the sources. Ed
Saturday, February 19, 2005
Fallujah the safest place in Iraq, says US: "We're burning firewood to keep warm." government has not paid out any compensation money so far
Telegraph | News | Fallujah the safest place in Iraq, says US: "Fallujah the safest place in Iraq, says US
(Filed: 19/02/2005)
There is a phrase American officers have started using to describe the battered streets of Fallujah. They are calling it the safest place in Iraq."
Four months after the US military swept through the city in the biggest urban offensive since the Vietnam war, the insurgents who once controlled the city and used it as a springboard for violence elsewhere have gone. Attacks on American or Iraqi security forces are few.
...
On every street is the grim testimony of the insurgents' demise: Piles of rubble and buildings riddled with bullet holes.
The destruction left the city without power and water for weeks, a ghost town of rotting corpses and sewage-filled streets. Services have returned only sporadically.
"Basically, we emptied out the city and let the people back in one by one," said Major Wade Weems, who commands one of two marine reconstruction teams. "We've purified the town of every insurgent element."
...
"We're burning firewood to keep warm. The ministries are finished," he said. The Iraqi government has not paid out any compensation money so far, although assessment teams have been processing claims for weeks.
(Filed: 19/02/2005)
There is a phrase American officers have started using to describe the battered streets of Fallujah. They are calling it the safest place in Iraq."
Four months after the US military swept through the city in the biggest urban offensive since the Vietnam war, the insurgents who once controlled the city and used it as a springboard for violence elsewhere have gone. Attacks on American or Iraqi security forces are few.
...
On every street is the grim testimony of the insurgents' demise: Piles of rubble and buildings riddled with bullet holes.
The destruction left the city without power and water for weeks, a ghost town of rotting corpses and sewage-filled streets. Services have returned only sporadically.
"Basically, we emptied out the city and let the people back in one by one," said Major Wade Weems, who commands one of two marine reconstruction teams. "We've purified the town of every insurgent element."
...
"We're burning firewood to keep warm. The ministries are finished," he said. The Iraqi government has not paid out any compensation money so far, although assessment teams have been processing claims for weeks.
Iraq: suicide bombers and attacks: 55 dead, 91 dead in two days ...
Excite News: "Suicide Bombings, Attacks Kill 55 in Iraq | Feb 19, 9:28 PM (ET) | By MAGGIE MICHAEL
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Eight suicide bombers struck in quick succession Saturday in a wave of attacks that killed 55 people as Iraqi Shiites marched and lashed themselves with chains in ritual mourning of the 7th century death of a leader of their Muslim sect. Ninety-one people have been killed in violence in the past two days. ...
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Eight suicide bombers struck in quick succession Saturday in a wave of attacks that killed 55 people as Iraqi Shiites marched and lashed themselves with chains in ritual mourning of the 7th century death of a leader of their Muslim sect. Ninety-one people have been killed in violence in the past two days. ...
Friday, February 18, 2005
How The US Murdered a City: Fallujah
How The US Murdered a Ccity: "Fallujah: The Truth at Last | Doctor Salam Ismael took aid to Fallujah last month. This is a report of his visit. | 02/17/05 - -
IT WAS the smell that first hit me, a smell that is difficult to describe, and one that will never leave me. It was the smell of death. Hundreds of corpses were decomposing in the houses, gardens and streets of Fallujah. Bodies were rotting where they had fallen-bodies of men, women and children, many half-eaten by wild dogs.
A wave of hate had wiped out two-thirds of the town, destroying houses and mosques, schools and clinics. This was the terrible and frightening power of the US military assault.
...
In Saqlawiya, one of the makeshift refugee camps that surround Fallujah, we found a 17 year old woman. "I am Hudda Fawzi Salam Issawi from the Jolan district of Fallujah," she told me. "Five of us, including a 55 year old neighbour, were trapped together in our house in Fallujah when the siege began.
"On 9 November American marines came to our house. My father and the neighbour went to the door to meet them. We were not fighters. We thought we had nothing to fear. I ran into the kitchen to put on my veil, since men were going to enter our house and it would be wrong for them to see me with my hair uncovered. "This saved my life. As my father and neighbour approached the door, the Americans opened fire on them. They died instantly.
"Me and my 13 year old brother hid in the kitchen behind the fridge. The soldiers came into the house and caught my older sister. They beat her. Then they shot her. But they did not see me. Soon they left, but not before they had destroyed our furniture and stolen the money from my father's pocket."
...
Through the ruins That is why we decided to go into Fallujah and investigate. When we entered the town I almost did not recognise the place where I had worked as a doctor in April 2004, during the first siege.
We found people wandering like ghosts through the ruins. Some were looking for the bodies of relatives. Others were trying to recover some of their possessions from destroyed homes.
Here and there, small knots of people were queuing for fuel or food. In one queue some of the survivors were fighting over a blanket.
I remember being approached by an elderly woman, her eyes raw with tears. She grabbed my arm and told me how her house had been hit by a US bomb during an air raid. The ceiling collapsed on her 19 year old son, cutting off both his legs.
...
But in most of the houses, the bodies were of civilians. Many were dressed in housecoats, many of the women were not veiled-meaning there were no men other than family members in the house. There were no weapons, no spent cartridges.
It became clear to us that we were witnessing the aftermath of a massacre, the cold-blooded butchery of helpless and defenceless civilians.
Nobody knows how many died. The occupation forces are now bulldozing the neighbourhoods to cover up their crime. What happened in Fallujah was an act of barbarity. The whole world must be told the truth.
IT WAS the smell that first hit me, a smell that is difficult to describe, and one that will never leave me. It was the smell of death. Hundreds of corpses were decomposing in the houses, gardens and streets of Fallujah. Bodies were rotting where they had fallen-bodies of men, women and children, many half-eaten by wild dogs.
A wave of hate had wiped out two-thirds of the town, destroying houses and mosques, schools and clinics. This was the terrible and frightening power of the US military assault.
...
In Saqlawiya, one of the makeshift refugee camps that surround Fallujah, we found a 17 year old woman. "I am Hudda Fawzi Salam Issawi from the Jolan district of Fallujah," she told me. "Five of us, including a 55 year old neighbour, were trapped together in our house in Fallujah when the siege began.
"On 9 November American marines came to our house. My father and the neighbour went to the door to meet them. We were not fighters. We thought we had nothing to fear. I ran into the kitchen to put on my veil, since men were going to enter our house and it would be wrong for them to see me with my hair uncovered. "This saved my life. As my father and neighbour approached the door, the Americans opened fire on them. They died instantly.
"Me and my 13 year old brother hid in the kitchen behind the fridge. The soldiers came into the house and caught my older sister. They beat her. Then they shot her. But they did not see me. Soon they left, but not before they had destroyed our furniture and stolen the money from my father's pocket."
...
Through the ruins That is why we decided to go into Fallujah and investigate. When we entered the town I almost did not recognise the place where I had worked as a doctor in April 2004, during the first siege.
We found people wandering like ghosts through the ruins. Some were looking for the bodies of relatives. Others were trying to recover some of their possessions from destroyed homes.
Here and there, small knots of people were queuing for fuel or food. In one queue some of the survivors were fighting over a blanket.
I remember being approached by an elderly woman, her eyes raw with tears. She grabbed my arm and told me how her house had been hit by a US bomb during an air raid. The ceiling collapsed on her 19 year old son, cutting off both his legs.
...
But in most of the houses, the bodies were of civilians. Many were dressed in housecoats, many of the women were not veiled-meaning there were no men other than family members in the house. There were no weapons, no spent cartridges.
It became clear to us that we were witnessing the aftermath of a massacre, the cold-blooded butchery of helpless and defenceless civilians.
Nobody knows how many died. The occupation forces are now bulldozing the neighbourhoods to cover up their crime. What happened in Fallujah was an act of barbarity. The whole world must be told the truth.
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
U.S. contractors in Iraq allege abuses: 4 Iraqi civilians killed
MSNBC - U.S. contractors in Iraq allege abuses: "Four men say they witnessed shooting of unarmed civilians | By Lisa Myers & the NBC investigative unit | Updated: 7:43 p.m. ET Feb. 15, 2005
There are new allegations that heavily armed private security contractors in Iraq are brutalizing Iraqi civilians. In an exclusive interview, four former security contractors told NBC News that they watched as innocent Iraqi civilians were fired upon, and one crushed by a truck. The contractors worked for an American company paid by U.S. taxpayers. The Army is looking into the allegations.
...
"These aren't insurgents that we're brutalizing," says Craun. "It was local civilians on their way to work. It's wrong." ...
There are new allegations that heavily armed private security contractors in Iraq are brutalizing Iraqi civilians. In an exclusive interview, four former security contractors told NBC News that they watched as innocent Iraqi civilians were fired upon, and one crushed by a truck. The contractors worked for an American company paid by U.S. taxpayers. The Army is looking into the allegations.
...
"These aren't insurgents that we're brutalizing," says Craun. "It was local civilians on their way to work. It's wrong." ...
Sunday, January 30, 2005
Fighting kills 135 children: about 600 civilians per month dying, equate to about 11,000 in 12 months
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.
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.
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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