[uruknet.info] - [daily information from occupied iraq] - [newsletter 15 Dec 2005 - Part One]

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FALLUJA– ONE YEAR ON
DOCTORS FOR IRAQ CALLS FOR AN INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION INTO HUMAN RIGHTS
ABUSES
Dr Salam Ismael/ Doctors for Iraq
...Since the invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003 the city of Falluja
has been subjected to fierce and heavy military attacks. These attacks have
caused widespread devastation and destruction causing huge damage to the
infrastructure of the city. The biggest military assaults on the city took
place in April and November 2004, the attacks ate are known as the 'siege !
of Falluja’ (...) Doctors for Iraq had medical staff working inside the
city during the April and November 2004 sieges. Members witnessed serious
breaches of the Geneva Convention and human rights. These breaches have
been embedded in our minds and the minds of civilians brutalised and
traumatise by the illegal acts of aggression carried out by US/ Iraqi
forces. November 2005 marked the first anniversary of the second siege of
Falluja. One year on facts continue to emerge about the nature of the force
used against the cities population and the magnitude of the breaches of
international human rights law. However the majority of facts around the
siege remain undisclosed...


<http://www.uruknet.com/?s1=1&p=18738&s2=16>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.com/?p=18738


Why Saddam is important
Ian Douglas, Al-Ahram Weekly
...Luckily for Bush et al, Americans and the world had already been primed.
Saddam, Saddam, Saddam: Iraqis would be better without him. The
demonisation campaign kicked in, picking up where it had left off in 1991.
Now, with the weapons of mass destruction lie exposed, along with the
absurdity of American claims to be the guarantor of human rights (Abu
Ghraib, Fallujah, Tel Afar?), the "butcher of Baghdad" is the last card the
Americans have got: they have to m! ake this trial pay (...) It appears
Hussein fully understands that in court, as for the past 15 years, the
fight of Iraqis continues for their sovereignty. It is a powerful message,
and in accordance with law, and doubtless speaks to sentiments US legal
experts just can't understand. "When I speak, I speak like your brother,"
Hussein said to the judge during one exchange. "Your brother in Iraq and
your brother in the nation. I am not afraid of execution. I realise there
is pressure on you and I regret that I have to confront one of my sons. But
I'm not doing it for myself. I'm doing it for Iraq. I'm not defending
myself. But I am defending you"...

<http://www.uruknet.com/?s1=1&p=18728&s2=16>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.com/?p=18728


GI Special 3D45: I Am The Mother Of Phillip Hewett - December 15, 2005
www.militaryproject.org
...I am the mother off Phillip Hewett killed in Iraq 16th July 05. I have
read with interest your messages on your site and must say that I agree
with what is written. The thing that I find sad is that there are so many
people in both our countrys that want the troops out of Iraq and yet our
governments won't listen to us. We all live in a democracy and that is what
we keep being told they are trying to do in Iraq a bit! off a joke when we
have not got freedom of speech ourselves and our governments wont listen to
there own people. My son joined the army to protect this country and yet he
died in a country to make our governments richer not to give Iraq
democracy...

<http://www.uruknet.com/?s1=1&p=18737&s2=16>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.com/?p=18737


White (Phosphorous) Christmas
Gabriele Zamparini, The Cat's Dream
...Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, kidnappings, tortures, cluster bombs, depleted
uranium, white phosphorous, Fallujah… "sowing and watering the seeds of
democracy"! The 'big lies’, the 'colossal untruths’, the 'large-scale
falsehoods’. When our ruthless leaders and their apologists in the media
use words such as democracy, freedom and human rights just run and run
fast! Whatever the reasons Afghanistan and Iraq have been bombed and
occupied, they have not! hing to do with freedom, democracy and human
rights. And the other big lie, the war on terror, is just a show for the
western audience, a smoke screen Hitler and Goebbels would be proud...

<http://www.uruknet.com/?s1=1&p=18723&s2=16>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.com/?p=18723


This Time, Sunnis Decide to Participate
MARIAM FAM, AP
...Waleed said developments since January _ most notably a government
dominated by Shiites and Kurds _ have convinced him that staying away from
the polls was a mistake. "We have been marginalized ... and humiliated,"
said Waleed, a lean and mustachioed 35-year-old worker for a Sunni charity.
"Now, we have to contest the political process so that we can be in
control." (...) "We want the occupier to leave. This is the most important
thing," said Mohammed Ras! heed, Waleed's brother-in-law (...) Some still
openly brag of their support for Saddam's former Baath party, and for
Saddam himself. Israa, though never a member of the Baath party, said that
if Saddam's name were on the ballot, she would have voted for him. "All of
Iraq would have voted for Saddam," she said. "He is the only one who can
control the situation"...

<http://www.uruknet.com/?s1=1&p=18722&s2=16>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.com/?p=18722


Many Americans Think Iraq Victory is Impossible
Angus Reid Global Scan
Many adults in the United States have low expectations on the situation in
Iraq, according to a poll by Gallup released by CNN and USA Today. 49 per
cent of respondents believe the U.S. will not win the war in Iraq. The
coalition effort against Saddam Hussein’s regime was launched in March
2003. At least 2,152 American soldiers have died during the military
operation, and more than 16,000 troops have been injured...

<http://www.uruknet.com/?s1=1&p=18736&s2=16>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.com/?p=18736


Privatize Me...Corporatize Me.... Blackwaterize Me...
Jason Miller, Thomas Paine's Corner
...Here is what Blackwater has to say about itself on its Website at
<http://www.blackwaterusa.com/: >http://www.blackwaterusa.com/: We have
established a global presence and provide training and operational
solutions for the 21st century in support of security and peace, and
freedom and democracy everywhere. Blackwater's global presence includes
Iraq, where the murder of four of their emp! loyees triggered the US
military's vengeful attack on Fallujah in which it committed heinous war
crimes and atrocities against hundreds of Iraqi civilians. Why the four
Blackwater contractors were near Fallujah the day of their deaths remains
unclear. The mainstream media, Blackwater and the US government claim that
they were on security detail protecting a food delivery. However, some
suggest that the claims of protecting a food caravan were a ruse to cover
the fact that Blackwater employees were completing a military operation.
While the facts remain unclear, it is certain that the mainstream media's
portrayal of the Blackwater victims as "civilian contractors" was
significantly inaccurate...

<http://www.uruknet.com/?s1=1&p=18735&s2=16>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.com/?p=18735


The election day
A Citizen Of Mosul
...The result will appear at the end of this month as expected, but we all
know for sure who will win and why. If you ask me why I vote, while I know
the result in advance ? It is because of an e-mail I received from an
American friend telling me his feeling when he face a similar situation, he
said: " Now it seems certain that my vote will be for the losing side. I
find that incredibly frustrating. Even so, I will vote. I will lose, but I
will vote." I feel just as he! felt, and I decided to do what he did, so I
voted. Thank you my friend...

<http://www.uruknet.com/?s1=1&p=18734&s2=16>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.com/?p=18734


Iraq Extends Voting Amid High Turnout
IslamOnline.net
Iraqi authorities extended on Thursday, December 15 , the country's
landmark legislative polls amid high turnout, especially in Sunni areas.
"Voting has been extended by an hour," Iraq's Electoral Commission official
Adel Lamy told reporters, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP). Electoral
official Hussein Hindawi said earlier that polling stations would shut as
planned at 5 : 00 pm ( 1400GMT), but that people still queuing to vote
would be allowed to do so aft! er the doors had closed...

<http://www.uruknet.com/?s1=1&p=18733&s2=16>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.com/?p=18733


War in Iraq a crime, say legal experts
Malaysia Star
Leaders of the United States, Britain and Australia are criminals who have
committed crimes against humanity and should be hauled up and tried for war
crimes, according to two law professors. Prof Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi of
Universiti Teknologi Mara Malaysia said George W. Bush, Tony Blair, John
Howard and their accomplices had blatantly disregarded the laws of war. He
said the international community must file reports against them for
genocide and crimes again! st humanity with the International Criminal
Court for violating the Charter of the Nuremberg Tribunal. "Terrorism is a
crime against humanity and must be combated by concerted international
action that examines causes as well as cures." rof Francis A. Boyle of
Illinois University said Bush’s attempt to assassinate the president of
Iraq was an international crime in its own right...

<http://www.uruknet.com/?s1=1&p=18732&s2=16>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.com/?p=18732


House GOP bill rejects Iraq withdrawal
LIZ SIDOTI, Associated Press
House Republican leaders drafted legislation on Thursday that rejects calls
for withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq as "fundamentally inconsistent with
achieving victory" and said they would force a vote on Friday. It would be
the second time in five weeks that GOP leaders maneuvered for a vote on the
war in the face of Democratic calls for a timetable for withdrawal. The
resolution expresses the commitment of the House "to achieving victory in
I! raq."...

<http://www.uruknet.com/?s1=1&p=18731&s2=16>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.com/?p=18731


Elections...
Riverbend, Baghdad Burning
...The incident of the day yesterday was news of a tanker or truck that had
been caught in the town of Wassit full of fake voting ballots from Iran.
There is also news that voting centers haven’t been properly equipped in
several Sunni provinces. There was a skirmish between Iraqi National Guard
and the electoral committee to preside over elections in Salah Al-Din. More
people are going to elect this time around- not because Iraqis suddenly
believe in American-imposed democ! racy under occupation, but because the
situation this last year has been intolerable. Hakim and Ja’affari and
their minions have managed to botch things up so badly, Allawi is actually
looking acceptable in the eyes of many. I still can't stand him. Allawi is
still an American puppet. His campaign posters, and the horrors of the last
year, haven’t changed that. People haven’t forgotten his culpability in the
whole Fallujah debacle. For some Iraqis, however, he’s preferable to Hakim
and Ja’affari after a year of detentions, abductions, assassinations and
secret torture prisons...

<http://www.uruknet.com/?s1=1&p=18721&s2=16>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.com/?p=18721


Pentagon’s domestic spying operations target opponents of Iraq war
Barry Grey
As Congress moves toward passage of a bill to extend the USA Patriot Act,
scattered reports are surfacing in the US media of a massive expansion of
domestic spying operations by the US military. The reports make clear that
US citizens engaged in peaceful and legal political activity in opposition
to the war in Iraq and aggressive military recruiting tactics are being
monitored by military intelligence agencies and included in rapidly ex!
panding secret data banks...

<http://www.uruknet.com/?s1=1&p=18720&s2=16>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.com/?p=18720


US Army officer held for Iraq fraud
Aljazeera,net
A US Army officer has been arrested for stealing between $80,000 and
$100,000 in funds from the US governing administration in Iraq. The US
Justice Department said Army Reserve Lieutenant Colonel Debra Harrison, 47,
who served with the Coalition Provisional Authority, was arrested on
Thursday on charges involving bribery, money laundering and fraud. Harrison
is the second army officer and the fourth person charged in the past few
weeks in connection with the schem! e...

<http://www.uruknet.com/?s1=1&p=18730&s2=16>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.com/?p=18730


Freedom of Expression in an Era of State Terror
Niloufer Bhagwat, GlobalResearch.ca
The contemporary political scene is remarkable for the cascading effect of
the propaganda of the " war against terror", which has engulfed so many
countries of the Western and Eastern Hemisphere. Not a single continent
remains unscathed, not even the European Community, despite high sounding
ideals and conditions imposed, to secure human freedom as a precondition
for membership...

<http://www.uruknet.com/?s1=1&p=18729&s2=16>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.com/?p=18729


Christian Peacemaker Team's Kidnapping: Who Did It?
Gene Stoltzfus
...As a civilian worker in Viet Nam and later as a participant observer in
Central America and other international situations I know that my country
has long had within its control, strategies and organized forces schooled
in the basic tactics of modern terror, assassination and arms length
killing. The situation in Iraq invites questions of when these tactics are
being applied there...

<http://www.uruknet.com/?s1=1&p=18727&s2=16>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.com/?p=18727


Iraq's Tipping Point
Robert Dreyfuss
It’s election day in Iraq. If October’s constitutional balloting is any
precedent, we will not know the Iraqi government’s final tally for a few
weeks. Of course, that won’t stop President Bush from declaring the
elections a victory for democracy. Yet such a statement does democracy a
major disservice, for democracy is much more than an election. Democracy
can only be the outgrowth of an earnest national consensus—a consensus that
Bush, for some unknown reason, has done every! thing possible to avoid
building. Because of that simple, hard-earned fact, we have a pretty good
idea of what the future holds...

<http://www.uruknet.com/?s1=1&p=18740&s2=16>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.com/?p=18740


Iraq: Withdrawal or Drawdown?
William D. Hartung
The domestic debate on U.S. policy towards Iraq is finally shifting against
the war, with a majority of Americans supporting either immediate
withdrawal or withdrawal within two years time. Two years might seem like a
long while, but considering that there have been indications that the U.S.
might want to stay on indefinitely in some form, this change in public
attitudes represents real progress. The beginning of the shift in public
opinion began with Cindy Sheehan! 's sit-in outside the Bush "ranch" last
summer...

<http://www.uruknet.com/?s1=1&p=18725&s2=16>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.com/?p=18725


Sistani plays major role, but from sidelines
Hamza Hendawi, The Associated Press
There is an Arabic phrase that aptly describes Grand Ayatollah Ali Al
Sistani's role in this week's elections: "Absent yet present." Sistani, who
wields vast influence among Iraq's majority Shiites, has not publicly
endorsed any candidates. But there's little doubt of his choices — and why.
The Iranian-born cleric has issued a binding fatwa, or edict, instructing
followers to vote in Thursday's parliamentary elections...

<http://www.uruknet.com/?s1=1&p=18724&s2=16>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.com/?p=18724


Army resister speaks to high school students
José A. Cruz, People's Weekly World Newspaper
Camilo Mejía, a former sergeant in the U.S. Army who served a year in jail
for refusing to return to Iraq, urged young people here to learn the facts
before deciding whether to enlist in the armed forces (...) Mejía said the
main victims of the Iraq war are civilians, noting that while it is sad
that over 2,000 U.S. soldiers have died, about 100,000 Iraqis have also
died. He charged there are "commanders instigating combat ! to get
promotions" for their personal gain, and that U.S. troops sometimes fire on
innocent civilians out of fear that they may be insurgents. "My unit alone
killed 33 people," he said, but "only three of them had weapons"...

<http://www.uruknet.com/?s1=1&p=18726&s2=16>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.com/?p=18726


Aerial bombardment
Xymphora
Dahr Jamail writes about the increasing use of bombing attacks against
civilians in Iraq (...). The failure by the American mainstream press to
even mention this fact is reminiscent of their complete failure to report
on the similar attacks on Iraq during the days of the 'no fly' zones (an
undeclared war by Britain and the U. S. against Iraq, which was replaced by
the 2003 attack when that undeclared war didn't achieve its desired
purpose), when British and American planes went on innu! merable bombing
runs without the slightest mention in the press

<http://www.uruknet.com/?s1=1&p=18719&s2=16>Read the full article / Leggi
l'articolo completo: http://www.uruknet.com/?p=18719




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