[uruknet.info] - [daily information from occupied iraq] - [newsletter 24 Sep 2005]

["uruknet.info" <redazione at uruknet.info>]

  uruknet.info
  «Ë-Ë“Ê Æ‰Ê·Ë
:: information from occupied iraq
:: informazione dall'iraq occupato

Basra; another milestone in war on terror
Mike Whitney
...The Basra incident is another milestone in the faltering war on terror.
The questions that emerge are fundamental to understanding whether we are
engaged in a noble effort to liberate and democratize the Iraqi people, or
complicit in the deliberate murder of innocent civilians. If the car driven
by the two commandos was loaded with explosives, then we can assume that it
would have been used to kill civilians. Why does this surprise us? We've
already seen ! the "Shock and Awe" invasion that cost tens of thousands of
lives. We've already seen the horrific photos of tortured and sadistically
abused prisoners at Abu Ghraib. We've already heard the news of the 200
prisoners at Guantanamo who are starving themselves to death under the
Pentagon's watchful eye. We've already chronicled the calculated
destruction of Iraqi society and the daily assault on their main cities...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=16088&s2=25>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=16088


Farewell to the Democratic Party
Mike Whitney
... I know the Democratic Party; I worked in the party for 3 years as
program chairman. The people at the grassroots are as fine as anyone you
will ever meet. They are overwhelmingly against the Patriot Act, the Iraq
war, the unlimited incarceration of terror suspects, NAFTA, and the abuse
of detainees. But the goals and aspirations of these people will not be
realized through the vehicle of the Democratic Party. The party system is
as clogged, arthritic and unrespon! sive to change as their mirror-image
the Republicans. The party has been co-opted by elites who set the agenda
and subvert any effort to upset the status quo. They endorse the same
imperial horrors as their rivals, albeit with greater eloquence and
diplomacy...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=16092&s2=25>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=16092


Heart of Darkness
Billmon
...There was a time when I would have argued that the American people
couldn't stomach that kind of butchery -- not for long anyway -- even if
their political leaders were willing to inflict it. But now I'm not so
sure. As a nation, we may be so desensitized to violence, and so inured to
mechanized carnage on a grand scale, that we're psychologically capable of
tolerating genocidal warfare against any one who can successfully be
labeled as a "terrorist." Or at least, a sizable enough fra! ction of the
America public may be willing to tolerate it, or applaud it, to make the
costs politically bearable. I don't know this for a fact, but after a
stroll through nowthatsfuckedup.com, or reading the genocidal lunacy
routinely on display at Little Green Footballs or freerepublic.com - or
your average redneck watering hole for that matter -- I'm not willing to
rule it out. Which means I should have gone to Washington today after all.
Because we really do need to get the troops out of Iraq -- before hell is
the consequence...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=16098&s2=25>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=16098


Out of Postmodern Slavery
Liz Burbank
...New Orleans must become the death-knell for postmodern slavery. It
arouses our deepest emotions -- sadness, anger and compassion --but we must
not fall for the hypocritical crocodile tears and cynical appeals for
charity to assuage their guilt --and ours. We must not allow them to
exploit or hide these massive crimes against humanity, but turn them into
political ammunition against the perpetrators, organize resistance against
this cruel racist system to rebuild a society! based on justice and peace.
Let us stand up to defend our sisters & brothers on the Gulf Coast, in
Iraq, Africa, Palestine, Haiti, Iran, Peru, Nepal-- everywhere US
imperialism & zionism grinds the people into dirt for its profits and
power. We face the same enemy --we share the same profound hopes -- and
struggle for a decent world and future...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=16104&s2=25>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=16104


People flee Baghdad district amid reports of imminent major attack
Ilham Mohammed, Azzaman
Many residents are fleeing Doura, a low-income district in Baghdad and
scene of regular fighting between U.S.-backed Iraqi troops and groups
opposing them. Recently leaflets were handed out in the district, where an
estimated one million people live, to evacuate their houses. Car and
roadside bomb attacks are almost daily occurrences in the area, believed to
be among the most restive in Baghdad. Iraqi forces are massing in ! the
district, setting up checkpoints and road blocks, prompting the residents
to leave for fear that the troops would soon mount a major attack...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=16101&s2=25>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=16101


Turning a Blind Eye to Muder and Abuse in Basra
Nature and Man Conspire to Expose the Lies of the Powerful
ROBERT FISK, The Independent
...But let's go back to the Brits. Remember how we were told that our
immense experience of "peace- keeping" in Northern Ireland had allowed us
to get on better with the Iraqis in the south than our American cousins
further north? I don't actually remember us doing much "peacekeeping" in
Belfast after about 1969--the rest, I recall, was about biffing the
IRA--but in any! case the myth was burned out on the uniforms of British
troops this week. Indeed, much of the war in Northern Ireland appeared to
revolve around the use of covert killings and SAS undercover operatives who
blew away IRA men in ambushes. Which does raise the question, doesn't it,
as to just what our two SAS lads were doing cruising around Basra in Arab
dress with itsy-bitsy moustaches and guns? Why did no one ask? How many SAS
men are in southern Iraq? Why are they there? What are their duties? What
weapons do they carry? Whoops! No one asked...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=16109&s2=25>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=16109


A SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR LIVING IN THE U.S.
Malcom Lagauche
Yesterday, I received a message from a reader in Australia. It gave me the
idea for today’s column. Here is the message: I have just finished reading
an article in From the Wilderness about a story of a group of people trying
to get out of New Orleans. What a great pack of bastards were in charge of
the non-existent evacuation. All the police chiefs, the National Guard
commanders and all others who had responsible positions should be rounded
up and tried ! for crimes against humanity. I feel sorry for you, Malcom,
having to live in the same country as those bastards ...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=16108&s2=25>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=16108


‘US-Iraqi attacks on rebel towns are genocide’
AFP
Military operations to purge Iraqi cities of insurgents, who come primarily
from the Sunni Arab community, amount to genocide, according to press
reports on Saturday of a Sunni meeting in Jordan. “The Sunnis are the
target of a campaign of genocide,” Saleh Al Mutlaq, a leader of the Council
for National Dialogue, was quoted as saying. Mutlaq added that he could not
rule out “a movement of civil disobedience if these massacres continue.”...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=16105&s2=25>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=16105


Antiwar Protests Commence in Washington
Miranda S. Spivack and Petula Dvorak, Washington Post Staff Writers
Thousands of protesters against the war in Iraq rallied today in Washington
and other U.S. and European cities to demand the return of U.S. troops in
what organizers hope will be the largest gathering since the war began more
than two years ago. Protest organizers estimated a crowd of about 200,000
rallied at the Ellipse, then marched around the White House and along
Pennsylvania Avenue. Police downgraded t! he count to about 150,000. The
crowd thinned when a misty drizzle began before the afternoon concert on
the Washington Monument grounds...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=16107&s2=25>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=16107


In 1 year, Halliburton's stock doubles as troop deaths double
Halliburton Watch
Since the beginning of the Iraq war, Halliburton, the Texas energy giant
once headed by Vice President Dick Cheney, has seen its stock price more
than triple in value. When the U.S invaded Iraq in March of 2003,
Halliburton's stock was selling for $20 per share. The stock price at the
close of market activity on Monday was $66. In the last 12 months, the
total number of U.S. service members killed in Iraq almost doubled as
Halliburton! 's stock doubled. Halliburton's stock rose from $33 per share
in September 2004 to $66 yesterday while U.S. deaths in Iraq increased from
1,061 to almost 1900...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=16102&s2=25>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=16102


About Cindy Sheehan
David Swanson, t r u t h o u t
I came to know Cindy Sheehan in May, and - like most people - I immediately
loved her. She is a very friendly and loving person, and you cannot work on
a project with her without being constantly reminded of what it is all
about, how important it is, how right it is. Cindy does not talk about
peace movement strategy as if she were working on any old project. She
talks about the urgent need to end the vile crimes of the greedy bastards
who sent her son to die so ! that they could grow rich on his flesh and
blood. This is Cindy's language that I am repeating...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=16099&s2=25>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=16099


An Interview With Chris Floyd
Brad Blog
...The most important short-term problem facing America is ending the
on-going atrocity and war crime in Iraq. But there is no good solution for
that problem now. There never was; once the crime was committed, we were
locked into a destiny of bloodshed and horror. I personally favor an
immediate withdrawal: if you no longer want to be a criminal, then you must
stop committing the crime. Doing it in some "better way" or "seeing the job
through more efficiently" or any of the! other nostrums offered up by the
Democrats – it's just ridiculous, it's meaningless jaw-flapping from
well-wadded people who will never have to face the consequences of their
actions. If something is a crime, then doing it "in a better way" is even
more criminal...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=16097&s2=25>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=16097


Pattern of Abuse
ADAM ZAGORIN
...The Captain also says he was told there were pictures of abuse that
occurred at Camp Mercury similar to photos taken by Military Police at Abu
Ghraib prison. It is not clear whether the Captain saw the pictures, but he
has said, sources tell TIME, that the photos were so similar to what was
depicted at Abu Ghraib that, when the scandal erupted, soldiers burned them
out of fear that they too could be punished. The Captain has also told
Senate staff that many of the actions he witne! ssed did not, at the time,
violate his personal code of conduct. He was also under the impression that
the conduct was in line with military policy...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=16111&s2=25>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=16111


3 U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq as fighting surges
STEVEN R. HURST, The Associated Press
Heavy fighting surged yesterday in the Euphrates River city of Ramadi,
police and hospital officials said, and the U.S. military reported the
deaths of three more soldiers around the militant stronghold, scene of
several American deaths this month. In Baghdad, a roadside bomb killed a
U.S. Army soldier whose convoy was patrolling southeastern Baghdad last
night, raising to at least 1,913 the number of U.S. service members who !
have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=16103&s2=25>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=16103


'You Can't Wash Your Hands When They're Covered in Blood'
Hart Viges, The Independent
My name is Hart Viges. September 11 happened. Next day I was in the
recruiting office. I thought that was the way I could make a difference in
the world for the better. So I went to infantry school and jump school and
I arrived with my unit of the 82nd Airborne Division. I was deployed to
Kuwait in February 2003. We drove into Iraq because Third Infantry Division
was ahead of schedule, and so I didn't need to jump into Baghdad a! irport.
As we drove into Samawa to secure their supplies my mortar platoon dropped
numerous rounds on this town. I watched Kiowa attack helicopters fire
Hellfire missile after Hellfire missile. I saw a C130 Spectre gunship ...
it will level a town. It had belt-fed artillery rounds pounding with these
super-Gatling guns...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=16095&s2=25>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=16095


US Has Sanctioned Torture for Far Too Long
Jennifer K. Harbury
As the United Nations intensifies its scrutiny of torture practices in
Iraq, many Americans feel outrage and confusion. How could this have
happened? The truth lies in the realities that led to the Katrina disaster.
The horrors are not new, but long-term and deep-rooted. The photographs of
Abu Ghraib torture practices left many of us with a chilling sense of deja
vu. Anyone who survived torture in Latin America or lost a loved one to
death squads ther! e, remembers these techniques. We also remember the U.S.
participants. Although our government leaders insist that the recent abuses
were acts of a few "bad apples" - young MPs out of control - we can only
shake our heads. We have heard it all before. While our young soldiers face
prison time for following orders, those who authorized and ordered the
torture continue to violate our laws with full impunity. Why?...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=16096&s2=25>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=16096


Kafka Does Iraq: The Disturbing Case of Abdul Amir Younes Hussein
Arianna Huffington
The disturbing case of Abdul Amir Younes Hussein, the CBS cameraman who has
been detained by U.S. forces in Iraq for over five months without a shred
of evidence being publicly presented against him, has taken yet another
bizarre turn. As reported by the New York Times and Wall Street Journal
last week, Hussein is a 25-year-old freelancer who has found himself
trapped in a nightmare of secrecy, suspicion, and legal uncertainty si! nce
being wounded by U.S. forces while filming the aftermath of a car bombing
in Mosul on April 5th...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=16094&s2=25>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=16094


My Speech at UFPJ Rally
Cindy Sheehan, BUZZFLASH
Ahhhh, I love the smell of Patriotic Dissent in the afternoon! As we stand
here on the grounds of a monument that is dedicated to the Father of our
Country, George Washington, we are reminded that he was well known for the
apocryphal stories of never being able to tell a lie. I find it so ironic
that there is another man here named George who stays in this town between
vacations and he seems to never be able to tell the truth. It is tragic for
us that our bookend p! residents named George have two completely different
relationships with honesty...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=16093&s2=25>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=16093


US Northern Command and Hurricane Rita
Michel Chossudovsky, GlobalResearch.ca
There are indications that the Bush Administration is preparing to enact
far-reaching emergency procedures in response to Hurricane Rita, which
could potentially lead the country into a situation of Martial Law.
Following his visit to Texas on September 23, President Bush traveled
together with DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff to The Peterson Air Force
Base, at the headquarters of US Northern Command in Colorado Springs. He
spent the ni! ght of September 23 at Colorado Springs and was at US
NorthCom headquarters on the morning of the 24th of September, when
Hurricane Rita hits the Texas-Louisiana coastline...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=16090&s2=25>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=16090


Iraqi Resistance Report for events of Friday, 23 September 2005
Translated and/or compiled by Muhammad Abu Nasr, member, editorial board,
the Free Arab Voice. ( http://www.freearabvoice.org )
...Hundreds of Iraqi citizens have been stranded on the Syrian side of the
border with Iraq following an order by the US-installed regime in Baghdad
to close the border to all, even citizens of Iraq. The al-Jazeera satellite
TV station reported that among the many Iraqis stuck on the border are
pilgrims back from the trip ! to Mecca, students and professors, people
returning from having obtained medical treatment, families and government
employees...

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=16084&s2=25>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=16084


Iraqi judge seeks arrest of British soldiers
Abdel-Razzak Hameed, Reuters
An Iraqi judge has issued arrest warrants for two British soldiers accused
of killing a policeman in Basra, an Iraqi lawyer said on Saturday, as
thousands rallied there in support of a new constitution. Judge Raghib
Hassan issued the warrants on Thursday, accusing the two of wounding a
second Iraqi policeman, carrying unlicensed weapons and holding false
identification, Kassim al-Sabti, head of the lawyers' syndicate in Basra,
told Reuters.! ..

<http://www.uruknet.info/?s1=1&p=16083&s2=25>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: www.uruknet.info/?p=16083




<http://www.uruknet.info>www.uruknet.info: a site gathering daily
information concerning occupied Iraq: news, analysis, documents and texts
of iraqi resistance available in Italian and English.





You receive this newsletter because you subscribed it. If you think it was
an abuse, or simply if you don't want to receive it any more,
from our newsletter, <http://www.uruknet.com/unsub1.php>click here to
unsubscribe