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HavenWorks.com/world/iraq/archive/2007 |
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/ 2007 Iraq
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Dennis
Kucinich - 
Joe
Biden
- 
Chris
Dodd
- 
Ron
Paul
- 
Duncan
Hunter
- 
Television
- 
Politics
- 
US
- Iraq
- 
Military
- 
2008
Election - 
New
Hampshire - "FOX,
ABC to reduce debate fields." ... "This weekend’s
[New Hampshire] presidential debates and forum will not include some nationally-known
candidates, and the chairmen of the state Republican and Democratic parties
are not happy." ... "Fergus Cullen and Raymond Buckley say the decisions
by ABC News, WMUR and, in Cullen’s case, FOX News, are inconsistent with
the New Hampshire primary’s tradition of providing a level playing field
for all candidates." ... "ABC News and WMUR-TV (Channel 9) confirmed today
that they have established performance-based criteria for Saturday night's
pair of presidential debates. Those rules could leave several relatively
well-known candidates on the outside looking in, including [2008 Election
Democratic Presidential Candidates] Democrats Dennis Kucinich, Joe Biden
and Chris Dodd." ... "And Cullen confirmed that FOX News has invited only
five presidential candidates to a GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican]
forum scheduled for Sunday night, leaving out [2008 Election Republican
Presidential Candidates] Ron Paul and Duncan Hunter." ... "GOP candidate
Paul has said that FOX News is “scared of me” and has called the network
“propagandists for this (Iraq) war, and I challenge them on the notion
that they are conservative.”" -By John Distaso
-UnionLeader.com
John
Edwards
- 
Mike
Huckabee - 
Hillary
Clinton
- 
Barack
Obama
- 
Mitt
Romney
- 
Money
- Religion
- 
People
- US
- Iraq
- Military
- 
Iowa
- 2008
Election - Poll
- "Iowa:
Edwards surges, Huckabees bubble bursts." ... "[2008
Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] John Edwards has clawed his
way into contention to win Iowa's caucuses on Thursday in the first vote
for the Democratic presidential nomination, gaining strength even as rivals
[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Hillary Clinton and [2008
Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Barack Obama have lost ground,
according to a new McClatchy-MSNBC poll." ... "At the same time, [2008
Election Republican Presidential Candidate] Mitt Romney has regained the
lead among Iowa Republicans as [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate]
Mike Huckabee has lost momentum and support, even among the evangelical
Christians who had propelled him into the top spot just weeks ago." ...
"If all second-tier Democratic candidates fall short [in Iowa’s Democratic
caucuses] and their supporters switch to other candidates, Edwards gains
the most, rolling up a clear lead at 33 percent to 26 percent each for
Clinton and Obama." ... "Edwards, pushing a people-versus-the powerful
message, owes his gains to voters looking for a general election winner,
someone who agrees with them on the issues, and those who rank Iraq their
top concern." -By Steven Thomma
-McClatchyDC.com
Ron
Paul
- Television
- Politics
- New
Hampshire - Iowa
- US
- Iraq
- Military
- 2008
Election - "Paul:
Fox News is 'scared of me'." ... "[2008 Election
Republican Presidential Candidate] Ron Paul said the decision to exclude
him from a debate on Fox News Sunday the weekend before the New Hampshire
Primary is proof that the network "is scared" of him." ... ""They are scared
of me and don't want my message to get out, but it will," Paul said in
an interview at a diner here. "They are propagandists for this war and
I challenge them on the notion that they are conservative."" ... "Paul,
the Republican Texas Congressman, was wrapping up his final day of campaigning
in New Hampshire until the Iowa Caucuses on Thursday." -By
James Pindell -BostonGlobe
US
- Iraq
- 
Afghanistan
- Military
- Money
- 
Legislation
- Reconstruction
- "Bush
rejects defense bill by pocket veto." ... "[Republican]
President Bush on Friday used a "pocket veto" to reject a sweeping defense
bill because he dislikes a provision that would expose the Iraqi government
to expensive lawsuits seeking damages from the Saddam Hussein era." ...
"In a statement, Bush said the legislation "would imperil billions of dollars
of Iraqi assets at a crucial juncture in that nation's reconstruction efforts.""
... "The president's objections were focused on a provision deep within
legislation that sets defense policy for the coming year and approves $696
billion in spending, including $189 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Also in the legislation were improved veterans benefits and tighter oversight
of contractors and weapons programs." ... "The pocket veto means that troops
will get a 3 percent raise Jan. 1 instead of the 3.5 percent authorized
by the bill." -By Ben Feller
-AP via -Yahoo
US
- Iraq
- Afghanistan- Worldwide
- Military
- 
Government
- 
Accounting
- 
Terrorism
- Politics
- 
History
- 
Alaska
- 
Ted
Stevens - "Wars
Cost $15 Billion a Month, GOP Senator Says." ...
"The latest estimate of the growing costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
and the worldwide battle against terrorism -- nearly $15 billion a month
-- came last week from one of the Senate's leading proponents of a continued
U.S. [United States] military presence in Iraq." ... ""This cost of this
war is approaching $15 billion a month, with the Army spending $4.2 billion
of that every month," [Alaska GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican Senator] Sen.
Ted Stevens (Alaska), the ranking Republican on the Appropriations defense
subcommittee, said in a little-noticed floor speech Dec. [December] 18."
... "While most of the public focus has been on the political fight over
troop levels, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) reported this month
that the [Republican President] Bush administration's request for the 2008
fiscal year of $189.3 billion [$189.3/12=$15.775 billion per month] for
Defense Department operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and worldwide counterterrorism
activities was 20 percent higher than for fiscal 2007 and 60 percent higher
than for fiscal 2006." (1, 2)
-By Walter Pincus -WashingtonPost
US
- Iraq
- Military
- "
US
military deaths in Iraq at 3,900." ... "As of Thursday,
Dec. 27, 2007, at least 3,900 members of the U.S. military have died since
the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated
Press count." -AP
via -Yahoo
John
Edwards
- Barack
Obama
- Hillary
Clinton
- Iowa
- Manufacturing
- 
Jobs
- 
Family
- 
Health-Care
- 
Environment
- Human
Rights - US
- 
China
- Corporations
- Iraq
- Military
- 
Indiana
- 
Idaho
- 
Illinois
- 
Homes
- Consumers
- 2008
Election - "Behind
the Edwards Surge: Right Message at the Right Time."
... "To a far greater extent than [2008 Election Democratic Presidential
Candidates Barack] Obama or [Hillary] Clinton, [John] Edwards has struck
at the heart of issues that should matter most in the race to replace not
just [Republican President] George W. Bush, but the Bush agenda of corporate
giveaways, job-crushing free trade deals, war profiteering in Iraq, and
subprime mortgage profiteering in Indiana, Idaho, Illinois and, yes, Iowa."
... "Edwards summed up his increasingly aggressive and powerful anti-corporate
themes with a declaration: "What makes America America is at stake: jobs,
the middle class, health care, preserving the environment in the world
for future generations."" ... ""But all those things are at risk. And why
are they at risk? Because of corporate power and corporate greed in Washington,
D.C. And we have to take them on. You can't make a deal with them. You
can't hope that they're going to go away. You have to actually be willing
to fight. And I want every caucus-goer to know I've been fighting these
people and winning my entire life. And if we do this together, rise up
together, we can actually make absolutely certain, starting here in Iowa,
that we make this country better than we left it."" ... "Edwards got to
know workers in Iowa. He stood with them in their struggles." ... "Turning
a broad question about human rights toward the specific issue of trade
policy, the former senator said that human rights, human needs and human
values "should be central to our trade policy."" ... ""But," he added,
"if you look at what's happened with American trade policy, look at what
America got: Big corporations made a lot of money, are continuing to make
a lot of money in China. But what did America get in return? We got millions
of dangerous Chinese toys. We lost millions of jobs." ... ""And right here
in Iowa, the Maytag plant in Newton [Iowa] closed. A guy named Doug Bishop,
who I got to know very well, had worked in that plant, and his family had
worked in that plant literally for generations. And his job is now gone.
The same thing, by the way, happened in the plant that my father worked
in when I was growing up. It is so important that we stop allowing these
corporate powers and corporate profits to run America's policy, whether
it's trade policy, how we engage with China. This is not good for America.
It's not good for American jobs. And it's not good for working people in
this country."" ... "That's an issue Edwards has taken far, far more seriously
than his opponents in what is now a three-way race in Iowa. And that seriousness
has benefitted the former senator." -By John Nichols
-TheNation
US
- Iraq
- Military
- Family
- Poll
- Idaho
- 
Oregon
- Afghanistan
- "Military
family members share public's division on Iraq war, Bush:
Polls: Almost half say invasion was a mistake." ... "Close family members
of U.S. [United States] troops are split on whether the Iraq invasion was
a mistake, and 55% disapprove of [Republican] President Bush's job performance,
according to USA TODAY/Gallup Polls focusing on immediate relatives of
servicemembers." ... ""They've maxed out on the troops. You've got guys
who are over there on their fourth or fifth tours. It's ridiculous," says
Jeanette Knowles, 40, of Mountain Home, Idaho, whose brother, Jeff, served
a tour in Iraq with the Oregon National Guard." ... "More than 1.5 million
servicemembers have been sent to Iraq or Afghanistan since Sept. 11, 2001,
and Army combat tours last up to 15 months." -By Gregg
Zoroya -USATODAY
Secret
- 
Alberto
R Gonzales - 
David
S Addington - 
Dick
Cheney
- 
Harriet
E Miers
- Torture
- War
- 
Crimes
- Tapes
- Censorship
- Law
- Politics
- Military
- Government
- 
Intelligence
- Terrorism
- History
- US
- Iraq
- "Bush
Lawyers Discussed Fate of C.I.A.Tapes." ... "At least
four top [Republican President Bush] White House lawyers took part in discussions
with the Central Intelligence Agency between 2003 and 2005 about whether
to destroy videotapes showing the secret interrogations of two operatives
from Al Qaeda, according to current and former administration and intelligence
officials." ... "The accounts indicate that the involvement of White House
officials in the discussions before the destruction of the tapes in November
2005 was more extensive than [Republican President] Bush administration
officials have acknowledged." ... "Those who took part, the officials said,
included Alberto R. Gonzales, who served as White House counsel until early
2005; David S. Addington, who was the counsel to [Republican] Vice President
Dick Cheney and is now his chief of staff; John B. Bellinger III, who until
January 2005 was the senior lawyer at the National Security Council; and
Harriet E. Miers, who succeeded Mr. Gonzales as White House counsel." ...
"It was previously reported that some administration officials had advised
against destroying the tapes, but the emerging picture of White House involvement
is more complex. In interviews, several administration and intelligence
officials provided conflicting accounts as to whether anyone at the White
House expressed support for the idea that the tapes should be destroyed."
... "One former senior intelligence official with direct knowledge of the
matter said there had been “vigorous sentiment” among some top White House
officials to destroy the tapes. The former official did not specify which
White House officials took this position, but he said that some believed
in 2005 that any disclosure of the tapes could have been particularly damaging
after revelations a year earlier of abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq."
... "The current and former officials also provided new details about the
role played in November 2005 by Jose A. Rodriguez Jr., then the chief of
the agency’s clandestine branch, who ultimately ordered the destruction
of the tapes." ... "The officials said that before he issued a secret cable
directing that the tapes be destroyed, Mr. Rodriguez received legal guidance
from two C.I.A. [Central Intelligence Agency] lawyers, Steven Hermes and
Robert Eatinger. The officials said that those lawyers gave written guidance
to Mr. Rodriguez that he had the authority to destroy the tapes and that
the destruction would violate no laws." ... "Current and former officials
said the two lawyers informed the C.I.A.’s top lawyer, John A. Rizzo, about
the legal advice they had provided." (1, 2)
-By Mark Mazzetti and Scott Shane with contributions
by David Johnston -NYTimes
John
Edwards
- Barack
Obama
- Hillary
Clinton
- 
North
Carolina - Illinois
- 
New
York
- 2008
Election - Government
- 
Oil
- 
Drug
- Companies
- Health-Care
- US
- Iraq
- Military
- Iowa
- Fields
- "Edwards
cuts sharper edge in Iowa trail speeches." ... ""The
few, the powerful, the well-financed, they now control the government,"
[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] John Edwards told a tight
crowd of about 350 last week. "They've taken over your democracy. And it
affects everything that happens in this country."" ... ""Everything," he
emphasized." ... "During an 18-minute span, the former North Carolina senator
took aim and fired freely at insurance, oil and drug companies and failed
chief executives rewarded with golden parachutes. He described the Republican
field as [Republican President] "George Bush on steroids" and said his
Democratic competitors are talkers, not fighters." ... "In what has often
been portrayed as a two-Democrat battle between [2008 Election Democratic
Presidential Candidate and Illinois Senator] Sens. Barack Obama of Illinois
and [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and New York Senator]
Hillary Clinton of New York the populist Edwards is making an eight-day
blitz across the frozen fields of Iowa, a sort of red-meat express to convince
the middle class that he is the one who will wrest the country from the
clutches of "corporate power and greed."" ... ""I know some people suggest
we'll be able to sit at the table with drug companies and oil companies
and think they can get their power away. Right," Edwards said dismissively,
indirectly referring to the approaches he says Obama and Clinton would
take." ... ""I'll tell you when they'll [corporations] lose their power:
when we take it away from them," he told a cheering crowd at the [Iowa]
Grinnell Eagles Club." ... ""There's been a change in America. We have
greater concentration of wealth and power in a few. We have an increasingly
dysfunctional health-care system. We have this war in Iraq that has gotten
much worse," he said. "I think we need a president who's willing to be
tough and to go after these things."" -By Tim Jones
-ChicagoTribune
US
- Iraq
- Military
- Police
- Terrorism
- Politics- 
Christmas
- "Christians
in Basra told not to celebrate to protest 2 deaths."
... "The Christian archbishop of Basra on Tuesday canceled the celebration
of Christmas in that southern city to protest the deaths of a brother and
sister, both Christians, as bombings and mayhem struck at cities throughout
Iraq." ... "Archbishop Imad al Banna said Christians in Basra should still
pray to mark Christmas, but should forgo such celebratory trappings as
trees, gift-swapping and family gatherings to protest the deaths of Maysoon
Farid, a 30-year-old cashier at a local pharmacy, and her brother Osama,
33. The two were found dead Monday night, dumped in a neighborhood controlled
by the Shiite Muslim Mahdi Army militia." ... "Meanwhile, two police officers
in Baghdad [Iraq's capital] were killed by a car bomb that struck near
the homes of two prominent politicians, while south of Fallujah, in the
west, family members mourned a 9-year-old girl who they said was killed
by U.S. troops." -By Leila Fadel and Ali al Basri
with contributions by Hussein Kadhim in Baghdad and Jamal al Dulaimy
-McClatchy
John
Edwards
- US- Iraq
- Military
- Corporate
- Government
- Energy
- Drug
- Health
- Family
- Farmers
- 2008
Election - "AP
Interview: Edwards on Iraq and Dems." ... "While
[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate John] Edwards continues
to invoke ending the [Iraq] war as one of the major challenges facing the
nation, the thrust of his message is that entrenched corporate power has
prevented the government from tackling long-standing domestic problems."
... ""You hear a lot more questions about corporate power, health care,
energy, family farmers," he said. "Those are the things people ask about.""
... ""My focus for these last few weeks is on a positive agenda," he said.
"That's what America rising is all about."" ... "That's not to say Edwards'
message doesn't have an edge." ... "His culprits are "powerful, well-entrenched,
well-financed interests that are distorting the democracy in their favor
and against the interests of most Americans."" ... ""The specific examples
are oil companies, drug companies, insurance companies, power companies,
there are lots more examples," he said. "They've used money and power to
spread their influence and have kept the democracy from working for most
people."" (1, 2)
-By Jim Kuhnhenn -AP
via -NOLA.com
US
- Iraq
- Afghanistan
- Military
- Families
- Politics
- Poll
- "Bush
loses ground with military families." ... "Families
with ties to the military, long a reliable source of support for wartime
presidents, disapprove of [Republican] President Bush and his handling
of the war in Iraq, with a majority concluding the invasion was not worth
it, a Los
Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll has found." ... "The views of the military
community, which includes active-duty service members, veterans and their
family members, mirror those of the overall adult population, a sign that
the strong military endorsement that the [Republican President Bush] administration
often pointed to has dwindled in the war's fifth year." ... "Nearly six
out of every 10 military families disapprove of Bush's job performance
and the way he has run the war, rating him only slightly better than the
general population does." ... "And among those families with soldiers,
sailors and Marines who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan, 60% say that
the war in Iraq was not worth the cost, the same result as all adults surveyed."
... "Military families are only slightly more patient: 35% are willing
to stay until victory; 58% want the troops home within a year or sooner."
... "When military families were asked which party could be trusted to
do a better job of handling issues related to them, respondents divided
almost evenly: 39% said Democrats and 35% chose Republicans." -By
Faye Fiore -LAtimes
Howard
Krongard
- US
- Iraq
- 
Blackwater
- Corporate
- Military
- Law
- "Official
in Blackwater probe quits." ... "State Department
Inspector General Howard Krongard, under scrutiny for his brother's link
to the Blackwater security firm, has decided to resign, U.S. officials
said on Friday." ... "Krongard, the State Department's top investigator,
has been accused by current and former subordinates of thwarting probes
into waste, fraud and abuse in Iraq, including alleged arms smuggling by
Blackwater." -By Arshad Mohammed and Andy Sullivan
with contributions by Bill Trott -Reuters
US
- Iraq
- Military
- 
Pennsylvania
- "Murtha
clarifies surge remarks." ... "Following a headline-grabbing
uproar, [Pennsylvania Democratic Representative] Rep. John Murtha, D-Pennsylvania,
moved swiftly Friday to clarify earlier remarks that seemed to suggest
the Iraq surge policy was working." ... "The surge, he said in a statement,
“has created a window of opportunity for the Iraqi government,’’ but so
far the Iraqi government has “failed to capitalize on the political and
diplomatic steps that the surge was designed to provide.”" ... "“The fact
remains that the war in Iraq cannot be won militarily, and that we must
begin an orderly redeployment of U.S. forces from Iraq as soon as practicable,”
said the chair of the House Appropriations Committee’s Defense Subcommittee."
-CNN
US
- Iraq
- Blackwater
- Corporate
- Military
- Politics
- Steroids
- North
Carolina - "Witnesses
testify in Blackwater lawsuit." ... "A federal grand
jury investigating Blackwater Worldwide heard witnesses Tuesday as a private
lawsuit accused the government contractor's bodyguards of ignoring orders
and abandoning their posts shortly before taking part in a Baghdad [Iraq's
capital] shooting that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead." ... "Filed this week
in U.S. District Court in Washington, the civil complaint also accuses
North Carolina-based Blackwater of failing to give drug tests to its guards
in Baghdad — even though an estimated one in four of them was using steroids
or other "judgment altering substances."" ... "Before the shootings in
Baghdad last September, the three teams of an estimated dozen Blackwater
bodyguards had already dropped off the State Department official they were
tasked with protecting when they headed to Nisoor Square, according to
the lawsuit filed by lawyers working with the Center for Constitutional
Rights." ... "Blackwater and State Department personnel staffing a tactical
operations center "expressly directed the Blackwater shooters to stay with
the official and refrain from leaving the secure area," the complaint says.
"Reasonable discovery will establish that the Blackwater shooters ignored
those directives."" ... "Additionally, the lawsuit notes: "One of Blackwater's
own shooters tried to stop his colleagues from indiscriminately firing
upon the crowd of innocent civilians but he was unsuccessful in his efforts.""
-By Lara Jakes Jordan with contributions by Matthew
Lee and Matt Apuzzo -AP
via -Yahoo
Secret
- US
- Iraq
- 
Texas
- Oil
- Money
- Criminal
- 
UN
- 
Food
- "Texas
oilman Wyatt sentenced to year in prison." ... "Texas
oilman Oscar Wyatt was sentenced to one year and one day in prison on Tuesday
for conspiracy in the U.N. oil-for-food scandal, becoming the most prominent
figure jailed over corruption in the program to buy oil from Saddam Hussein's
Iraq." ... "Under his plea agreement, prosecutors dropped four other counts
against him, cutting short a trial in which they made a case that he paid
secret kickbacks to Saddam's government to win oil contracts from Iraq."
... "U.S. criminal investigations into the corrupted U.N. program has so
far produced the convictions of seven individuals and two companies, including
Chevron Corp. which agreed to pay $30 million to resolve criminal and civil
liabilities." (1, 2)
-By Christine Kearney with contributions by David
Wiessler -Reuters
US
- Iraq
- Military
- Oil
- Money- UN
- "Iraqis
may offer US deal to stay longer." ... "Iraq's government,
seeking protection against foreign threats and internal coups, will offer
the U.S. a long-term troop presence in Iraq in return for U.S. security
guarantees as part of a strategic partnership, two Iraqi officials said
Monday." ... "In Washington, [Republican] President Bush's adviser on the
Iraqi war, [Lieutenant General] Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute, confirmed the proposal,
calling it "a set of principles from which to begin formal negotiations.""
... "As part of the package, the Iraqis want an end to the current U.N.-mandated
multinational forces mission, and also an end to all U.N.-ordered restrictions
on Iraq's sovereignty." ... "The Americans appeared generally favorable
subject to negotiations on the details, which include preferential treatment
for American investments, according to the Iraqi officials involved in
the discussions." ... "Preferential treatment for U.S. investors could
provide a huge windfall if Iraq can achieve enough stability to exploit
its vast oil resources." -By Qassim Abdul-Zahra
-AP via -Yahoo
United
States - Iraq- Military
- Politics
- Economic
- History
- "Ex-coalition
leader says Bush failed to have plan: Sanchez: It's
time to withdraw troops, let Iraq take responsibility." ... "Retired Army
[Lieutenant General] Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, who led coalition forces
through the first critical year of Iraq's insurgency, said Saturday in
a nationally broadcast radio address that [Republican] President Bush had
failed to "devise a strategy for victory" and that the time had come to
withdraw U.S. troops." ... "In the Democratic rebuttal to Bush's weekly
radio address, Sanchez offered conditional support to a House war funding
bill that requires combat troops to be out of Iraq by the end of 2008."
... "As the coalition commander, Sanchez said in Saturday's broadcast,
he personally witnessed "the administration's failure to devise a strategy
for victory in Iraq that employed, in a coordinated manner, the political,
economic, diplomatic and military power of the United States. That failure
continues today."" ... "He predicted it would take at least a decade to
reverse the damage done to the Army's ability to fight future wars." ...
"The service, he added, is at its "lowest level"of force readiness since
Vietnam." -By Sig Christenson
-MySanAntonio.com via -Chron
US
- Iraq
- Afghanistan
- Military
- People
- Brain
- 
Science
- Accounting
- Politics
- 
NJ
- "20,000
vets' brain injuries not listed in Pentagon tally."
... "At least 20,000 U.S. troops who were not classified as wounded during
combat in Iraq and Afghanistan have been found with signs of brain injuries,
according to military and veterans records compiled by USA TODAY." ...
"The data, provided by the Army, Navy and Department of Veterans Affairs,
show that about five times as many troops sustained brain trauma as the
4,471 officially listed by the Pentagon through Sept. 30. These cases also
are not reflected in the Pentagon's official tally of wounded, which stands
at 30,327." ... "More than 150,000 troops may have suffered head injuries
in combat, says [New Jersey Democratic Representative] Rep. Bill Pascrell,
D-N.J., founder of the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force." ... "About
1.5 million troops have served in Iraq, where traumatic brain injury can
occur despite heavy body armor worn by troops." -By
Gregg Zoroya -USATODAY
Iraq
- United
States - 
Saudi
Arabia - 
Libya
- 
Syria- Military
- Terrorism
- 
Computer
- Intelligence
- Religious
- Politics
- "Foreign
Fighters in Iraq Are Tied to Allies of U.S.." ...
"Saudi Arabia and Libya, both considered allies by the United States in
its fight against terrorism, were the source of about 60 percent of the
foreign fighters who came to Iraq in the past year to serve as suicide
bombers or to facilitate other attacks, according to senior American military
officials." ... "The data come largely from a trove of documents and computers
discovered in September, when American forces raided a tent camp in the
desert near Sinjar, close to the Syrian border. The raid’s target was an
insurgent cell believed to be responsible for smuggling the vast majority
of foreign fighters into Iraq." ... "The most significant discovery was
a collection of biographical sketches that listed hometowns and other details
for more than 700 fighters brought into Iraq since August 2006." ... "The
records also underscore how the insurgency in Iraq remains both overwhelmingly
Iraqi and Sunni. American officials now estimate that the flow of foreign
fighters was 80 to 110 per month during the first half of this year and
about 60 per month during the summer. The numbers fell sharply in October
to no more than 40, partly as a result of the Sinjar raid, the American
officials say." ... "In contrast to the comparatively small number of foreigners,
more than 25,000 inmates are in American detention centers in Iraq. Of
those, only about 290, or some 1.2 percent, are foreigners, military officials
say." ... "About four out of every five detainees in American detention
centers are Sunni Arab, even though Sunni Arabs make up just one-fifth
of Iraq’s population." (1, 2)
-By Richard A. Oppel Jr.
-NYTimes
Iraq
- 
British
- Politics
- "In
Basra, violence is a tenth of what it was before British pullback, general
says." ... "Attacks against British and Iraqi forces
have plunged by 90 percent in southern Iraq since London [Britain's capital]
withdrew its troops from the main city of Basra, the commander of British
forces there said Thursday." ... "The presence of British forces in downtown
Basra, Iraq's second-largest city, was the single largest instigator of
violence, Maj. Gen. Graham Binns told reporters Thursday on a visit to
Baghdad's Green Zone." ... ""We thought, 'If 90 percent of the violence
is directed at us, what would happen if we stepped back?'" Binns said."
... "Britain's 5,000 troops moved out of a former Saddam Hussein palace
at Basra's heart in early September, setting up a garrison at an airport
on the city's edge. Since that pullback, there's been a "remarkable and
dramatic drop in attacks," Binns said." ... ""The motivation for attacking
us was gone, because we're no longer patrolling the streets," he said."
-AP via -IHT.com
US
- Iraq
- Religion
- Military
- Terrorism
- "Iraqis
Wasting An Opportunity, U.S. Officers Say: With Attacks
Ebbing, Government Is Urged to Reach Out to Opponents." ... "Senior military
commanders here [in Camp Liberty, Iraq] now portray the intransigence of
Iraq's Shiite-dominated government as the key threat facing the U.S. effort
in Iraq, rather than al-Qaeda terrorists, Sunni insurgents or Iranian-backed
militias." ... "In more than a dozen interviews, U.S. military officials
expressed growing concern over the Iraqi government's failure to capitalize
on sharp declines in attacks against U.S. troops and Iraqi civilians. A
window of opportunity has opened for the government to reach out to its
former foes, said Army [Lieutenant General] Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno,
the commander of day-to-day U.S. military operations in Iraq, but "it's
unclear how long that window is going to be open."" ... "The lack of political
progress calls into question the core rationale behind the troop buildup
[Republican] President Bush announced in January, which was premised on
the notion that improved security would create space for Iraqis to arrive
at new power-sharing arrangements." ... "The latest news of declining violence
comes as the U.S. troop contingent in Iraq has reached an all-time high.
This week, the U.S. troop number will hit 175,000 -- the largest presence
so far in the 4 1/2 -year war -- as units that are rotating in and out
overlap briefly. But those numbers are scheduled to come down rapidly over
the next several months, which will place an increasing burden on Iraqi
security forces and an Iraqi government that has yet to demonstrate it
is up to the challenge, senior military officials said." ... "Indeed, after
years of seizing on every positive development and complaining that the
good news wasn't being adequately conveyed, American military officials
now warn against excessive optimism. "It's never as bad as it was, and
it's not as good as it's being reported now," said Army [Major General]
Maj. Gen. Michael Barbero, chief of strategic operations for U.S. forces
in Iraq." (1, 2)
-By Thomas E. Ricks with contributions by Karen DeYoung
-WashingtonPost
US
- Iraq- Afghanistan
- Military
- Money
- Legislation
- Opinion
- Torture
- War
Crimes - Terrorism
- "House
passes Iraq bill calling for troops out by December '08."
... "The Democratic-controlled U.S. House Wednesday approved a war-funding
bill with a timeline for troop withdrawal from Iraq and substantially less
funds to conduct the war than [Republican] President Bush has requested."
... "It demands that Bush begin withdrawing troops from Iraq within 30
days of passage, with a goal of having American combat troops out of Iraq
by December 15, 2008." ... "The $50 billion "bridge fund" is about a quarter
of the nearly $200 billion the Bush administration has requested to pay
for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for 2008. Most of the money is slated
for Iraq, where the Pentagon estimates the cost of its operations at about
$10 billion a month." ... "A CNN-Opinion Research poll conducted in early
November found 68 percent of Americans polled oppose the war, and 62 percent
consider the conflict a stalemate." ... "The legislation also would require
the Pentagon to give troops the same amount of time at home as they were
deployed into combat, and bans government agents from using "waterboarding"
-- a technique the United States once prosecuted as a war crime -- against
suspected terrorists." -CNN
Howard
Krongard
- US
- Iraq
- Blackwater
- Business
- Military
- Law
- Politics
- 
Calif
- "State's
inspector general defends record." ... "In a stunning
move, the State Department official responsible for ensuring the agency
operates ethically recused himself Wednesday from any investigations related
to Blackwater Worldwide after admitting to lawmakers that his brother is
a member of the embattled security contractor's advisory board." ... "The
revelation by Howard Krongard, the department's inspector general, came
as Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee were
defending him from what they said were politically motivated attacks."
... "[California Democratic Representative] Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif.,
and other Democrats on the committee seized on the admission as further
evidence Krongard has politicized his office and undermined inquiries that
targeted Blackwater or that might embarrass [Republican President] Bush
administration officials." ... "Krongard first told the committee his brother,
Alvin Krongard, had assured him several weeks ago that he had no financial
interest or connections to Blackwater, which is the subject of several
federal investigations related to its work in Iraq." ... "Before the break,
committee Democrats produced a July 26 letter from Blackwater CEO Erik
Prince inviting Alvin Krongard to join his company's advisory board." -By
Richard Lardner -AP
via -SeattlePI
Money
- Politics
- 
School
- Healthcare
- US
- Iraq
- Afghanistan
- Military
- Christmas
- National_Debt
- 
Maryland
- "Bush
vetoes domestic spending bill: His first rejection
of an appropriations measure steps up his budget battle with congressional
Democrats, who deride as hypocritical his complaints about the price tag."
... "Intensifying his battle with Congress over federal spending, [Republican]
President Bush on Tuesday vetoed an appropriations bill for the first time,
rejecting $150.7 billion in spending for school aid, healthcare and other
domestic programs." ... "But as he complained about the cost of that bill,
which would have increased spending on these programs by 4.3% over last
year, Bush signed a $471-billion defense appropriations bill that pushed
up military spending by more than 9.5%." ... "And he urged Congress to
quickly appropriate $196 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan."
... ""Congress' responsibility is clear: It should not go home for the
Christmas holidays without giving our troops on the front lines the funds
they need to succeed," Bush told business leaders in southern Indiana after
excoriating Democrats for mismanaging the federal budget." ... "The president's
veto and his complaints were greeted with derision by congressional Democrats,
who were quick to point out Bush's six-year record of approving unbalanced
budgets passed by Republican Congresses." ... ""It is patently absurd that
President Bush, whose irresponsible policies instigated record budget deficits
and added more than $3 trillion to the national debt, now wants to pretend
that he is somehow an exemplar of fiscal responsibility," said House Majority
Leader [and Maryland Democratic Representative] Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.)."
(1, 2)
-By Noam N. Levey and James Gerstenzang
-LAtimes
Michael
B Mukasey
- US
- Iraq
- Blackwater
- Business
- Military
- Law
- Politics
- North
Carolina - "F.B.I.
Says Guards Killed 14 Iraqis Without Cause." ...
"Federal agents investigating the Sept. 16 episode in which Blackwater
security personnel shot and killed 17 Iraqi civilians have found that at
least 14 of the shootings were unjustified and violated deadly-force rules
in effect for security contractors in Iraq, according to civilian and military
officials briefed on the case." ... "The F.B.I. investigation into the
shootings in Baghdad [Iraq's capital] is still under way, but the findings,
which indicate that the company’s employees recklessly used lethal force,
are already under review by the Justice Department." ... "Prosecutors have
yet to decide whether to seek indictments, and some officials have expressed
pessimism that adequate criminal laws exist to enable them to charge any
Blackwater employee with criminal wrongdoing. Spokesmen for the Justice
Department and the F.B.I. declined to discuss the matter." ... "The case
could be one of the first thorny issues to be decided by Michael B. Mukasey,
who was sworn in as attorney general last week. He may be faced with a
decision to turn down a prosecution on legal grounds at a time when a furor
has erupted in Congress about the administration’s failure to hold security
contractors accountable for their misdeeds." ... "Representative David
E. Price, a North Carolina Democrat who has sponsored legislation to extend
American criminal law to contractors serving overseas, said the Justice
Department must hold someone accountable for the shootings." ... "“Just
because there are deficiencies in the law, and there certainly are,” Mr.
Price said, “that can’t serve as an excuse for criminal actions like this
to be unpunished. I hope the new attorney general makes this case a top
priority. He needs to announce to the American people and the world that
we uphold the rule of law and we intend to pursue this.”" (1, 2)
-By David Johnston and John M. Broder with contributions
by Paul von Zielbauer -NYTimes
US
- Iraq
- Afghanistan
- Military
- Jobs
- Oil
- Medical
- Politics
- 2008
Election - "'Hidden
Costs' Double Price Of Two Wars, Democrats Say."
... "The economic costs to the United States of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
so far total approximately $1.5 trillion, according to a new study by congressional
Democrats that estimates the conflicts' "hidden costs"-- including higher
oil prices, the expense of treating wounded veterans and interest payments
on the money borrowed to pay for the wars." ... "That amount is nearly
double the $804 billion the White House has spent or requested to wage
these wars through 2008, according to the Democratic staff of Congress's
Joint Economic Committee. Its report, titled "The Hidden Costs of the Iraq
War," estimates that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have thus far cost
the average U.S. family of four more than $20,000." ... "The report argues
that war funding is diverting billions of dollars away from "productive
investment" by American businesses in the United States. It also says that
the conflicts are pulling reservists and National Guardsmen away from their
jobs, resulting in economic disruptions for U.S. employers that the report
estimates at $1 billion to $2 billion." ... "Oil prices have more than
tripled since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003, the report notes,
to a peak of more than $90 per barrel. "The war in Iraq is certainly not
responsible for all of this increase," the report states, but it estimates
that declining Iraqi production "has likely raised oil prices in the U.S.
by between $4 and $5 a barrel." The report added that "because of the many
factors affecting oil markets, this should be seen as a highly approximate
estimate."" ... "The committee's Democrats estimated that injuries due
to the wars could add more than $30 billion in future disability and medical
care costs, including billions in lost earnings for veterans who cannot
work because of post-traumatic stress disorder." (1, 2)
-By Josh White with contributions by Julie Tate
-WashingtonPost
John
Edwards
- US
- Iraq
- Afghanistan
- Military
- Counseling
- Money
- Politics
- New
Hampshire - North
Carolina - "Edwards
unveils plan for vets with PTSD." ... "[2008 Election
Democratic] Presidential contender John Edwards is introducing a $400 million
plan Monday to help veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, including
those recently returned from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan." ... "Under
Edwards' plan, veterans could seek counseling for post-traumatic stress
disorder outside the Veterans Health Administration system; the number
of counselors would increase; and family members would be employed to identify
cases of PTSD." ... "Edwards, a North Carolina Democrat, was scheduled
to introduce the five-point plan during a speech at New Hampshire's Plymouth
State University." ... ""I strongly believe we must restore the sacred
contract we have with our veterans and their families, and that we must
begin by reforming our system for treating PTSD. We also must act to remove
the stigma from this disorder," Edwards said in prepared remarks his campaign
provided to The Associated Press. "Warriors should never be ashamed to
deal with the personal consequences of war."" -By
Philip Elliott -AP
via -Yahoo
US
- Iraq
- Criminal
- Business
- Military
- Politics
- Accounting
- "Broken
Supply Channel Sent Weapons for Iraq Astray." ...
"As the insurgency in Iraq escalated in the spring of 2004, American officials
entrusted an Iraqi businessman with issuing weapons to Iraqi police cadets
training to help quell the violence." ... "By all accounts, the businessman,
Kassim al-Saffar, a veteran of the Iran-Iraq war, did well at distributing
the Pentagon-supplied weapons from the Baghdad Police Academy armory he
managed for a military contractor. But, co-workers say, he also turned
the armory into his own private arms bazaar with the seeming approval of
some American officials and executives, selling AK-47 assault rifles, Glock
pistols and heavy machine guns to anyone with cash in hand — Iraqi militias,
South African security guards and even American contractors." ... "“This
was the craziest thing in the world,” said John Tisdale, a retired Air
Force master sergeant who managed an adjacent warehouse. “They were taking
weapons away by the truckload.”" ... "Activities at that armory and other
warehouses help explain how the American military lost track of some 190,000
pistols and automatic rifles supplied by the United States to Iraq’s security
forces in 2004 and 2005, as auditors discovered in the past year." ...
"These discoveries prompted criminal inquiries by the Pentagon and the
Justice Department, and stoked fears that the arms could fall into enemy
hands and be used against American troops. So far, no missing weapons have
been linked to any American deaths, but investigators say that in a country
awash with weapons, it may be impossible to trace where some ended up."
... "While the Pentagon has yet to offer its own accounting of how the
weapons channel broke down, it is clear from interviews with two dozen
military and civilian investigators, contracting officers, warehouse managers
and others that military expediency sometimes ran amok, the lines between
legal and illegal were blurred and billions of dollars in arms were handed
over to shoestring commands without significant oversight." ... "Some investigators
said that because military suppliers to the war zone were not required
to record serial numbers, it was unlikely that the authorities would ever
be able to tell where the weapons went." ... "Many of those weapons were
issued when [General] Gen. David H. Petraeus, now the top American commander
in Iraq, was responsible for training and equipping Iraqi security forces
in 2004 and 2005. " (1, 2,
3)
-By Eric Schmitt and Ginger Thompson with contributions
by Margot Williams and James Glanz -NYTimes
US
- Iraq
- Blackwater
- Business
- Military
- Politics
- "Rice's
Management at Issue: Critics Cite Blackwater, Baghdad
Embassy and Passports." ... "Shortly after Condoleezza Rice took charge
of the 57,000-person State Department in 2005, she said she relished the
challenge of "line responsibility" in leading a large organization. "I
really enjoy that," she said in an interview. "Some of my favorite times
here have been my budget and high-level management reviews."" ... "Nearly
three years later, Rice is under fire from inside and outside the State
Department for a range of crises that are largely managerial in nature
-- the failure to monitor private security guards in Iraq, the delays in
opening the huge U.S. Embassy under construction in Baghdad [Iraq's capital]
and the resistance of some Foreign Service officers to being forced to
serve there. Over the summer, the department also fell woefully short in
processing passport applications, resulting in ruined vacation plans for
many Americans." ... "Within the department, Rice is viewed by many rank-and-file
employees as an aloof manager who relies on a tight circle of aides, leaving
her out of touch with the rest of the staff, in contrast to her predecessor,
Colin L. Powell, a retired Army general who won praise from workers for
treating them as though they were his "troops." At her last town hall meeting
with employees 2 1/2 years ago, Rice told staffers: "I consider myself
the chief management officer of this department." But a poll by the American
Foreign Service Association indicated that an overwhelming majority did
not feel that Rice was their advocate." (1, 2)
-By Glenn Kessler -WashingtonPost
John
McCain
- 
Rudolph
Giuliani
- 
Bernard
Kerik
- US
- Iraq
- Police
- Military
- Torture
- Prisoner
- Law
- Politics
- 2008
Election - New
York
- World
- Religion
- "McCain
questions Giuliani's judgment." ... "[2008 Election
Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain told reporters he had never
approved of [former New York City, New York police commissioner Bernard]
Kerik as a candidate for head of the DHS [Department of Homeland Security]."
... ""I went to Baghdad [Iraq's capital] shortly after the initial victory
and met in Baghdad with Bremer, Sanchez and Kerik was there,” McCain said
referencing former L. Paul Bremmer and [Lieutenant General] Lt. Gen. Ricardo
Sanchez. “Kerik was supposed to be there to help train the police force.
He stayed two months and one day just left.”" ... ""That's why I never
would have supported him to be the head of Homeland Security because of
his irresponsible act when he was over there in Baghdad to try to help
train the police."" ... "McCain also rebuked the [2008 Election Republican
Presidential Candidate Rudolph Giuliani and former] New York mayor for
his unwillingness to categorize water boarding as torture." ... ""He doesn't
understand. He doesn't have the experience or judgment to lead this nation,"
McCain, a former prisoner of war, told reporters." ... ""I mean this is
a defining issue about America. It means that he clearly does not understand
the moral implications of torturing someone and what it does to our standing
in the world and what it does to our ability to win this struggle to win
radical Islamic extremism," he continued." -By Sareena
Dalla -CNN
Water
- Politics
- Legislation
- Construction
- Money
- Children's
- Health
- Stem-Cell- Science
- Iraq
- US
- Military
- "Congress
Overrides Bush for First Time on Water Bill (Update3)."
... "Congress handed [Republican] President George W. Bush the first veto
override of his presidency, voting to revive a $23 billion water-projects
measure he rejected last week on grounds it was too expensive." ... "The
Senate voted 79 to 14 today, a two-thirds majority including dozens of
the chamber's Republicans, to approve plans to fund some 800 projects across
the country. Because the House voted 361 to 54 earlier this week to override
Bush, also a two- thirds majority, the bill now becomes law." ... "Lawmakers
defended the plan as critical to maintaining the nation's dams, sewers,
levees, flood-control projects and erosion prevention efforts." ... "It
was Bush's first defeat in a series of veto fights this year with Democrats.
He rejected Democratic proposals to expand a children's health insurance
program, increase federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research and
legislation placing various conditions on Iraq war funding." -By
Brian Faler -Bloomberg
Dick
Cheney
- Dennis
Kucinich - US
- Iraq
- Military
- Intelligence
- Law
- 
Ohio
- 2008
Election - "Debate
on Cheney impeachment averted." ... "House Democrats
on Tuesday narrowly managed to avert a bruising debate on a proposal to
impeach [Republican Vice President] Dick Cheney after Republicans, in a
surprise maneuver, voted in favor of taking up the measure." ... "Republicans,
changing course midway through a vote, tried to force Democrats into a
debate on the resolution sponsored by longshot [2008 Election Democratic]
presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich." ... "The anti-war Ohio Democrat,
in his resolution, accused Cheney of purposely leading the country into
war against Iraq and manipulating intelligence about Iraq's ties with al-Qaida."
... "The resolution said that Cheney, "in violation of his constitutional
oath to faithfully execute the office of vice president," had "purposely
manipulated the intelligence process to deceive the citizens and Congress
of the United States by fabricating a threat of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction
to justify the use of the U.S. Armed Forces against the nation of Iraq
in a manner damaging to our national security interests."" -By
Jim Abrams -AP
via -Yahoo
Dick
Cheney
- Dennis
Kucinich - Ohio
- US
- Iraq
- Politics
-2008
Election - "House
tied in knots over resolution to impeach Cheney."
... "[Ohio Democratic Representative and 2008 Election Presidential Candidate]
Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, is trying to impeach [Republican] Vice President
Cheney for what he describes
as "high crimes and misdemeanors" before the invasion of Iraq."
-USATODAY
US
- Iraq
- 
Iran
- Military
- "2007
Deadliest Year For U.S. In Iraq: Deaths Of 6 U.S.
Forces Push Toll To 853 During Year Of Massive Troop Buildup." ... "With
nearly two months remaining, 2007 became the bloodiest year of the Iraq
war for American troops - 853 dead. The U.S. military on Tuesday announced
the deaths of five more soldiers and one sailor, pushing the toll past
the previous worst - 850 in 2004." ... "While 2007 became the war's deadliest
year, there has been a sharp downturn in both Iraqi and American deaths
over the past two months and a decline in Iranian weapons deliveries could
be one of several factors for the decrease." ... "Iran publicly denies
that it has sent weapons to Shiite militias in Iraq." ... "The grim milestone
for American forces was passed despite a noticeable drop in U.S. and Iraqi
deaths here in recent months, after a 30,000-strong U.S. force buildup.
There were 39 deaths in October, compared to 65 in September and 84 in
August. " (1, 2)
-AP via -CBSNews
US
- Iraq
- Military
- Government
- Law
- Politics
- Blackwater
- Criminal
- Business
- "Exclusive:
ABC News Obtains Text of Blackwater Immunity Deal:
State Department Grants Immunity to Guards Investigated for Shooting Iraqi
Civilians." ... "ABC News has learned the exact wording of the immunity
deal the State Department granted Blackwater security guards involved in
a September shooting incident that left 17 Iraqis dead." ... "The security
guards were given a limited immunity called "use immunity" in exchange
for giving sworn statements about their involvement in the Sept. 16 shooting
incident." ... "The wording of the immunity is included at the beginning
of the Blackwater guards' sworn statements, which have been obtained by
ABC News." ... "In each of the statements, the guards begin by saying "I
understand this statement is being given in furtherance of an official
administrative inquiry," and that, "I further understand that neither my
statements nor any information or evidence gained by reason of my statements
can be used against me in a criminal proceeding, except that if I knowingly
and willfully provide false statements or information, I may be criminally
prosecuted for that action under 18 United States Code, Section 1001.""
... "The immunity deal was granted in the immediate aftermath of the shooting
by State Department officials in Iraq who were under intense pressure to
quickly explain what happened in the face of allegations by Iraqi officials
that the contractors murdered civilians in cold blood." ... "The immunity
granted to the Blackwater guards is more limited in scope than so-called
"transactional immunity" which would prevent any proscution for the alleged
crimes. But the immunity granted to the guards means that anything said
in the statements -- and anything learned as a result of the statements
-- cannot be used by prosecutors." ... ""It's a nightmare for prosecutors,"
said legal expert Eugene Fidell. " (1, 2)
-By Jonathan Karl and Kirit Radia
-ABCNEWS.com
US
- Iraq
- Military
- Government
- Politics
- Blackwater
- Criminal
- Business
- "U.S.
promised Blackwater guards immunity, officials say."
... "State Department investigators promised Blackwater guards immunity
from prosecution for last month's deadly shooting of 17 Iraqi civilians
in Baghdad [Iraq's capital], according to officials familiar with the matter."
... "That could potentially complicate any attempt to bring criminal charges
in the case, the officials said." ... ""They were told their statements
can't be used against them," said one U.S. government official. "But this
doesn't necessarily mean charges can never be brought against these guys.""
... "A second official called the limited immunity "surprising and confusing"
and questioned the authority of the State Department's diplomatic security
investigators to unilaterally make immunity decisions." -By
Terry Frieden with contributions by Elise Labott
-CNN
US
- Iraq
- Military
- Government
- Politician
- 
EMail
- 2008
Election - Computer
- 
Web
- Hacking
- "Gen.
Petraeus' Spokesman Denies Sending Angry Email -- Plot Thickens."
... "A disturbing email allegedly sent by a top U.S. military spokesman
to a leading blogger at Salon.com this past weekend is just starting to
draw mainstream attention. Howard Kurtz at The Washington Post mentioned
it today, for example. It requires a good deal of background information
to fully appreciate it, so I will provide a link to Glenn Greenwald’s blog
page at Salon where he offered extensive postings (and updates) Sunday
[*]
and today [*]
about the email purportedly from Army [Colonel] Col. Steven Boylan. But
E&P has its own correspondence from Boylan, and I want to focus on
that." ... "The long and short of the Greenwald postings: For months the
popular blogger -- a former attorney and author of the recent bestseller
"A Tragic Legacy" -- has criticized the growing “politicization” of the
military attached to Iraq, starting earlier this year and peaking around
the appearance of [General] Gen. David Petraeus before Congress (and the
media) in September. This was even before William Safire declared, this
past weekend, that the general ought to be considered as a running mate
for a [2008 Election] Republican candidate for president next year." ...
"In the past, Greenwald had received, and printed, emails from Boylan,
a public affairs officer and chief spokesman for Gen. Petraeus, denying
this trend and/or defending the general. So when he received an angry email
from Boylan yesterday, he posted much of it on his blog (and linked to
the entire message), while asserting that the views and language in it
proved his point about “politicization.”" ... "Then it got really interesting.
Boylan in another note to Greenwald seemed to deny that he wrote the email,
while denouncing Greenwald for publishing it. But he did not state this
clearly and refused to respond to Greenwald’s subsequent request for clarity.
Meanwhile, various purported computer experts compared past and present
emails from Boylan to Greenwald and suggested (to the latter) that they
did seem to come from the same military email address. But no one was certain
and, at the least, it raised troubling questions about someone "hijacking"
the email account of Gen. Petraeus's chief spokesman. " -By
Greg Mitchell
-EditorAndPublisher.com
US
- Iraq
- Afghanistan
- Military
- Politics
- "War
costs may total $2.4 trillion." ... "The cost of
the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan could total $2.4 trillion through the
next decade, or nearly $8,000 per man, woman and child in the country,
according to a Congressional Budget Office estimate scheduled for release
Wednesday." ... "A previous CBO estimate put the wars' costs at more than
$1.6 trillion. This one adds $705 billion in interest, taking into account
that the conflicts are being funded with borrowed money." -By
Ken Dilanian -USATODAY
US
- Iraq
- 
Kuwait
- Charles
E Williams - Howard
Krongard
- Military
- Government
- Construction
- Corporation
- Criminal
- "Criminal
probe into U.S. Embassy in Iraq construction." ...
"A mortar shell smashed into the hulking new U.S. [United States] Embassy
that's under construction in Baghdad [Iraq's capital] last May, damaging
a wall and causing minor injuries to people inside the building. It also
exposed enormous problems in the management of what's become a $592 million
government construction project." ... "The State Department contractor
in charge of the project, James L. Golden, attempted to alter the scene
of the blast, according to government officials familiar with the incident.
The State Department inspector general prevented Department officials from
investigating the incident, according to interviews and documents." ...
"A congressional committee is examining whether the walls of the still-unfinished
embassy complex, which are supposed to be blast-resistant, performed as
they should have during the mortar attack." ... "U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker
banished Golden from Iraq, but he continues to oversee the construction
of the embassy in Baghdad; to be the liaison with the contractor, Kuwait-based
First Kuwaiti General Trading and Contracting Co.; and to supervise other
projects for the State Department's Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO)
bureau." ... "McClatchy Newspapers has also learned that:" ... "— Aspects
of the embassy's construction are the subject of at least one U.S. government
criminal investigation, according to officials in Congress and the administration."
... "— In order to rush the project, the long-time head of OBO, retired
Army Maj. Gen. [Major General] Charles Williams, signed a waiver in July
2005 allowing a sole-source contract to be awarded to First Kuwaiti." ...
"In a letter to State Department Inspector General Howard Krongard last
month, [California Democratic Representative Henry] Waxman said that former
and current staff members in Krongard's office told the committee that
he'd refused to help investigate alleged wrongdoing by First Kuwaiti and
an unnamed top State Department official." -By Warren
P. Strobel and
Jonathan S.
Landay -McClatchyDC.com
Iraq
- Iran
- China
- US
- Construction
- Power
- Politics
- Military
- "Iraqi
Contracts With Iran and China Concern U.S.." ...
"Iraq has agreed to award $1.1 billion in contracts to Iranian and Chinese
companies to build a pair of enormous power plants, the Iraqi electricity
minister said Tuesday. Word of the project prompted serious concerns among
American military officials, who fear that Iranian commercial investments
can mask military activities at a time of heightened tension with Iran."
... "The Iraqi electricity minister, Karim Wahid, said that the Iranian
project would be built in Sadr City, a Shiite enclave in Baghdad that is
controlled by followers of the anti-American cleric Moktada al-Sadr. He
added that Iran had also agreed to provide cheap electricity from its own
grid to southern Iraq, and to build a large power plant essentially free
of charge in an area between the two southern Shiite holy cities of Karbala
and Najaf." ... "The expansion of ties between Iraq and Iran comes as the
United States and Iran clash on nuclear issues and about what American
officials have repeatedly said is Iranian support for armed groups in Iraq.
American officials have charged that Iranians, through the international
military wing known as the Quds Force, are particularly active in support
of elite elements of the Mahdi Army, a militia largely controlled by Mr.
Sadr." ... "At the same time, it is possible to view Iranian and Chinese
investment as giving those countries a stake in Iraqi stability. The power
plants could also boost a troubled reconstruction effort in Iraq." ...
"The agreements between Iraq and Iran come after the American-led reconstruction
effort, which relied heavily on large American contractors, has spent nearly
$5 billion of United States taxpayer money on Iraq’s electricity grid.
Aside from a few isolated bright spots, there was little clear impact in
a nation where in many places electricity is still available only for a
few hours each day." (1, 2)
-By James Glanz with contributions by Alissa J. Rubin
and Ahmad Fadam -NYTimes
US
- Iraq
- International
- Blackwater
- War
Crimes - Business
- Military
- Politics
- "America's
own unlawful combatants? Using private guards in
Iraq could expose the U.S. to accusations of treaty violations, some experts
think." ... "As the [Republican President] Bush administration deals with
the fallout from the recent killings of civilians by private security firms
in Iraq, some officials are asking whether the contractors could be considered
unlawful combatants under international agreements." ... "The question
is an outgrowth of federal reviews of the shootings, in part because the
U.S. officials want to determine whether the administration could be accused
of treaty violations that could fuel an international outcry." ... "Unresolved
questions are likely to touch off new criticism of Bush's conduct of the
unpopular Iraq war, especially given the broad definition of unlawful combatants
the president has used in justifying his detention policies at Guantanamo
Bay, Cuba." ... "The designation of lawful and unlawful combatants is set
out in the Geneva Convention. Lawful combatants are nonmilitary personnel
who operate under their military's chain of command. Others may carry weapons
in a war zone but may not use offensive force. Under the international
agreements, they may only defend themselves." ... "For a guard who is only
allowed to use defensive force, killing civilians violates the law of war,
said Michael N. Schmitt, a professor of international law at the Naval
War College and a former Air Force lawyer. "It is a war crime to kill civilians
unlawfully in an armed conflict," he said." -By Julian
E. Barnes -LAtimes
US
- Iraq
- Blackwater
- Company
- Politics
- "Blackwater
Is Soaked: An arrogant attitude only adds fuel to
the criticism." ... "The colonel was furious. "Can you believe it? They
actually drew their weapons on U.S. soldiers." He was describing a 2006
car accident, in which an SUV full of Blackwater operatives had crashed
into a U.S. Army Humvee on a street in Baghdad's [Iraq's capital] Green
Zone. The colonel, who was involved in a follow-up investigation and spoke
on the condition he not be named, said the Blackwater guards disarmed the
U.S. Army soldiers and made them lie on the ground at gunpoint until they
could disentangle the SUV. His account was confirmed by the head of another
private security company. Asked to address this and other allegations in
this story, Blackwater spokesperson Anne Tyrrell said, "This type of gossip
has led to many soap operas in the press."" ... "Whatever else Blackwater
is or isn't guilty of—a topic of intense interest in Washington—it has
a well-earned reputation in Iraq for arrogance and high-handedness. Iraqis
naturally have the most serious complaints; dozens have been killed by
Blackwater operatives since the beginning of the war." (1, 2)
-By Rod Nordland and Mark Hosenball with contributions
by Larry Kaplow and Michael Hastings -Newsweek
via -MSNBC
United
States - Iraq
- Military
- Politics
- 
Kansas
- Illinois
- "At
an Army School for Officers, Blunt Talk About Iraq."
... "Here at the intellectual center of the United States Army [Fort Leavenworth,
Kansas], two elite officers were deep in debate at lunch on a recent day
over who bore more responsibility for mistakes in Iraq — the [Republican
President Bush's] former defense secretary, Donald H. Rumsfeld, or the
generals who acquiesced to him." ... "“The secretary of defense is an easy
target,” argued one of the officers, Maj. [Major] Kareem P. Montague, 34,
a Harvard graduate and a commander in the Third Infantry Division, which
was the first to reach Baghdad [Iraq's capital] in the 2003 invasion. “It’s
easy to pick on the political appointee.”" ... "“But he’s the one that’s
responsible,” retorted Maj. [Major] Michael J. Zinno, 40, a military planner
who worked at the headquarters of the Coalition Provisional Authority,
the former American civilian administration in Iraq." ... "No, Major Montague
shot back, it was more complicated: the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the top
commanders were part of the decision to send in a small invasion force
and not enough troops for the occupation. Only Gen. [General] Eric K. Shinseki,
the Army chief of staff who was sidelined after he told Congress that it
would take several hundred thousand troops in Iraq, spoke up in public."
... "“You didn’t hear any of them at the time, other than General Shinseki,
screaming, saying that this was untenable,” Major Montague said." ... "Much
of the debate at Leavenworth has centered on a scathing article, “A Failure
in Generalship,” written last May for Armed Forces Journal by Lt. Col.
[Lieutenant Colonel] Paul Yingling, an Iraq veteran and deputy commander
of the Third Armored Cavalry Regiment who holds a master’s degree in political
science from the University of Chicago [Illinois]. “If the general remains
silent while the statesman commits a nation to war with insufficient means,
he shares culpability for the results,” Colonel Yingling wrote." -By
Elisabeth Bumiller -NYTimes
US
-Iraq
- Political
- Economic
- History
- "'No
end in sight' in Iraq, retired general says." ...
"Retired Army Lt. Gen. [Lieutenant General] Ricardo S. Sanchez, who led
U.S. forces in Iraq for a year after the March 2003 invasion, accused the
Bush administration Friday of going to war with a "catastrophically flawed"
plan and said the United States is "living a nightmare with no end in sight.""
... "Sanchez described the current troop increase in Iraq as "a desperate
attempt by the administration that has not accepted the political and economic
realities of this war."" ... ""The administration, Congress and the entire
interagency, especially the State Department, must shoulder the responsibility
for this catastrophic failure, and the American people must hold them accountable,"
Sanchez told military reporters and editors. "There has been a glaring
unfortunate display of incompetent strategic leadership within our national
leaders."" -WashingtonPost
via -LAtimes
US
- Iraq
- Politics
- "Sanchez,
former U.S. commander in Iraq, calls war 'a nightmare with no end in sight'."
... "The former top commander of U.S. troops in Iraq slammed the handling
of the war and gave a bleak assessment of the current situation in Iraq."
... "“There is no question that America is living a nightmare with no end
in sight,” retired Lt. Gen. [Lieutenant General] Ricardo Sanchez told a
convention of military journalists on Friday." ... "But Sanchez reserved
most of his venom Friday for U.S. officials, saying the U.S. government
still has not brought all the resources needed to win in Iraq." ... "“From
a catastrophically flawed, unrealistically optimistic war plan, to the
administration’s latest surge strategy, this administration has failed
to employ and synchronize the political, economic and military power,”
Sanchez said." ... "Continuing changes to military strategy alone will
not achieve victory, rather it will only “stave off defeat,” he said."
... "“The administration, Congress and the entire inter-agency, especially
the State Department, must shoulder the responsibility for this catastrophic
failure and the American people must hold them accountable.”" -By
Jeff Schogol -Stripes.com
British
- Iraq
- Kuwait
- US
- Oil
- Sea
- Transportation
- Politics
- "British
pullout in Iraq leaves Basra in chaos." ... "The
British troop pullout from Iraq announced yesterday leaves Basra, Iraq's
second largest and most strategically important city, in near total chaos
both politically and militarily." ... "It comes at a time when at least
four Shia militias are fighting over the city, which is surrounded by most
of the nation's tremendous oil reserves and provides Iraq's only gateway
to the sea." ... "Equally vital for U.S. strategists, the city also controls
the southern portion of the road from Kuwait to Baghdad [Iraq's capital],
along which mostly all U.S. supplies are brought in." ... "[British] Prime
Minister Gordon Brown said yesterday Britain will cut its forces in Iraq
by half in the spring, shrinking the commitment of America's leading coalition
partner to just 2,500 troops engaged mainly in "training and mentoring"
of Iraqi forces. UK troops have been based solely in and around Basra."
-By Timothy M. Phelps
-Newsday.com
US
- Iraq
- Afghanistan
- "Army
needs three to four years to recover from Iraq strains: chief."
... "The US Army will need three or four years to recover from the strains
of repeated deployments to Iraq even with a planned drawdown of US forces
next year, the service's chief said Monday." ... "General George Casey
said the army is "out of balance" after six years of warfare in Afghanistan
and Iraq, and facing unpredictable demands in an era of "persistent conflict.""
... "The long deployments and short time at home has left army units with
little time to train for conventional warfare or contingencies other than
Iraq." ... "Casey said it will take the army three to four years to gain
the additional troops, training time and equipment needed to field an army
ready for all kinds of warfare." -AFP.com
via -Yahoo
US
- Iraq
- Kuwait
- Construction
- Homes
- Health
- Safety
- Blackwater
- Military
- Politics
- "Iraq
Embassy Cost Rises $144 Million Amid Project Delays:
Planning, Workmanship Cited as Problems." ... "The massive U.S. embassy
under construction in Baghdad [Iraq's capital] could cost $144 million
more than projected and will open months behind schedule because of poor
planning, shoddy workmanship, internal disputes and last-minute changes
sought by State Department officials [under Republican President Bush],
according to U.S. officials and a department document provided to Congress."
... "The embassy, which will be the largest U.S. diplomatic mission in
the world, was budgeted at $592 million." ... "The growing price tag and
delayed opening have alarmed members of Congress, some of whom regard the
troubled project as the latest in a series of State Department management
problems in Iraq. The department has been criticized for failing to send
enough reconstruction specialists to assist U.S. forces in Baghdad and
for not providing adequate oversight of its principal private security
force, Blackwater USA, whose personnel have been accused of using excessive
force to protect U.S. diplomats." ... "Department officials contend that
some of the delays are a result of poor workmanship by the project's primary
contractor, First Kuwaiti General Trade and Contracting, a Middle Eastern
firm. Apparent building and safety blunders in a facility to house embassy
security guards have made it unsafe to open. Originally due to open last
December, the facility is still not operational because of formaldehyde
fumes in 252 prefabricated residential trailers." ... "A Sept. 18 internal
report on problems with the guard facility's electrical system, prepared
for Charles E. Williams, the director of building operations, suggested
that KBR, the former Halliburton subsidiary hired to run the facility,
was responsible for overloading the system." (1, 2)
-By Glenn Kessler -WashingtonPost
Noteworthy
- US
- Iraq
- Religious
- Freedom
- Censorship
- Military
- Politics
- 
Thanksgiving
- "Are
U.S. troops being force-fed Christianity? A watchdog
group alleges that improper evangelizing is occurring within the ranks."
... "At Speicher base in Iraq, US Army Spec. Jeremy Hall got permission
from a chaplain in August to post fliers announcing a meeting for atheists
and other nonbelievers. When the group gathered, Specialist Hall alleges,
his Army major supervisor disrupted the meeting and threatened to retaliate
against him, including blocking his reenlistment in the Army." ... "Months
earlier, Hall charges, he had been publicly berated by a staff sergeant
for not agreeing to join in a Thanksgiving Day prayer." ... "On Sept. 17,
the soldier and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) filed
suit against Army Maj. Freddy Welborn and US Secretary of Defense Robert
Gates, charging violations of Hall's constitutional rights, including being
forced to submit to a religious test to qualify as a soldier." ... "The
MRFF plans more lawsuits in coming weeks, says Michael "Mikey" Weinstein,
who founded the military watchdog group in 2005. The aim is "to show there
is a pattern and practice of constitutionally impermissible promotions
of religious beliefs within the Department of Defense."" ... "For Mr. Weinstein
– a former Air Force judge advocate and assistant counsel in the Reagan
White House – more is involved than isolated cases of discrimination. He
charges that several incidents in recent years – and more than 5,000 complaints
his group has received from active-duty and retired military personnel
– point to a growing willingness inside the military to support a particular
brand of Christianity and to permit improper evangelizing in the ranks.
More than 95 percent of those complaints come from other Christians, he
says." ... "Weinstein insists, however, that there are improper actions
at high levels that not only infringe on soldiers' rights but, at a very
dangerous time, also send the wrong message to people in the Middle East
that those in the US military see themselves engaged in Christian warfare."
-By Jane Lampman -CSMonitor
US
- Iraq
- Police
- Government
- Military
- Law
- Blackwater
- "Sources:
Blackwater contractor wrote first U.S. report on shooting."
... "A Blackwater contractor wrote an initial U.S. government report about
how his colleagues killed Iraqi civilians in a September shooting that
strained U.S.-Iraqi relations, government and industry sources told CNN."
... "The Iraqi government claims private contractors with Blackwater USA,
who were guarding a U.S. diplomatic convoy, killed as many as 20 civilians
on September 16 in western Baghdad's [Iraq's capital] Nasoor Square." ...
"The incident produced an outcry in Iraq and raised questions about the
accountability of foreign security contractors in Iraq, who under an order
laid down by the U.S.-led occupation government are not subject to Iraqi
law for actions taken within their contracts." ... "Blackwater -- which
provides security to U.S. diplomats -- says its employees responded properly
to an insurgent attack on a convoy, and the State Department initial "spot
report" written by the Blackwater contractor underscores that scenario
and doesn't mention civilian casualties." ... "However, that account is
at odds with what the Iraqis are saying. A senior Iraqi National Police
official participating in the Iraqi governmental probe of the shooting
said the Blackwater gunfire was unprovoked and the guards fired randomly,
killing and wounding several civilians." ... "The Blackwater contractor,
Darren Hanner, drafted a two-page "spot report" on the letterhead of the
Bureau of Diplomatic Security for the embassy's Tactical Operations Center,
said a source involved in diplomatic security at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad."
... "The TOC -- which tracks and monitors all incidents and movements involving
diplomatic security missions -- has outsourced positions to Blackwater
and another private firm, the embassy source said." -Contributed
to by Jomana Karadsheh, Zain Verjee, and Suzanne Simons
-CNN
US
- Iraq
- Global
- Military
- Politics
- "Army
is worn too thin, says general: Calls force not ready
to meet new threats." ... "The Army's top officer, General George Casey,
told Congress yesterday that his branch of the military has been stretched
so thin by the war in Iraq that it can not adequately respond to another
conflict - one of the strongest warnings yet from a military leader that
repeated deployments to war zones in the Middle East have hamstrung the
military's ability to deter future aggression." ... "In his first appearance
as Army chief of staff, Casey told the House Armed Services" ... "Committee
that the Army is "out of balance" and "the current demand for our forces
exceeds the sustainable supply. We are consumed with meeting the demands
of the current fight and are unable to provide ready forces as rapidly
as necessary for other potential contingencies."" ... "Officials said Casey,
who appeared along with Army Secretary Pete Geren, personally requested
the public hearing - a highly unusual move that military analysts said
underscores his growing concern about the health of the Army, America's
primary fighting force." ... "Casey's testimony yesterday sent a clear
message: If [Republican] President Bush or Congress does not significantly
reduce US forces in Iraq soon, the Army will need far more resources -
and money - to ensure it is prepared to handle future security threats
that the general warned are all but inevitable." ... ""As we look to the
future, national security experts are virtually unanimous in predicting
that the next several decades will be ones of persistent conflict," Casey
told the panel, citing potential instability caused by globalization, humanitarian
crises, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction." -By
Bryan Bender -Boston/Globe
US
- Iraq
- History
- Blackwater
- Military
- Business
- Politics
- Calif
- "Blackwater
blamed for guard deaths." ... "Blackwater USA triggered
a major battle in the Iraq war in 2004 by sending an unprepared team of
guards into an insurgent stronghold, a move that led to their horrific
deaths and a violent response by U.S. forces, says a congressional investigation
released Thursday." ... "The private security company, one of the largest
working in Iraq and under scrutiny for how it operates, also is faulted
for initially insisting its guards were properly prepared and equipped.
It is also accused of impeding the inquiry by the Democratic staff of the
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee." ... "The results of the
staff inquiry come less than a week before Erik Prince, a former Navy SEAL
and Blackwater's founder, is scheduled to testify before the committee,
which is chaired by [California Democratic Representative] Rep. Henry Waxman,
D-Calif., a longtime critic of Blackwater." ... "The March 2004 incident
involving Blackwater was widely viewed as a turning point in the Iraq war
after images of the mutilated bodies of the four guards were seen around
the world. Four days after the Blackwater guards were killed, a major military
offensive, known as the Battle of Fallujah, began." ... "The combat lasted
almost a month in Fallujah, which is 40 miles west of Baghdad [Iraq's capital].
At least 36 U.S. military personnel were killed along with 200 insurgents
and an estimated 600 civilians, the congressional investigation found."
-By Richard Lardner and Mike Baker
-AP via -Yahoo
US
- Iraq
- Military
- Intelligence
- Accounting
- Politics
- Terrorism
- Crime
- Database
- "What
Defines a Killing as Sectarian? U.S. Military Teams
Analyze and Tally Each Civilian Death." ... "On Sept. 1, the bullet-riddled
bodies of four Iraqi men were found on a Baghdad [Iraq's capital] street.
Two days later, a single dead man, with one bullet in his head, was found
on a different street. According to the U.S. military in Iraq, the solitary
man was a victim of sectarian violence. The first four were not." ... "Such
determinations are the building blocks for what the [Republican President]
Bush administration has declared a downward trend in sectarian deaths and
a sign that its war strategy is working. They are made by a specialized
team of soldiers who spend their nights at computer terminals, sifting
through data on the day's civilian victims for clues to the motivations
of killers." ... "Apparent contradictions are relatively easy to find in
the flood of bar charts and trend lines the military produces. Civilian
casualty numbers in the Pentagon's latest quarterly report on Iraq last
week, for example, differ significantly from those presented by the top
commander in Iraq, Gen. David H. Petraeus, in his recent congressional
testimony. Petraeus's chart was limited to numbers of dead, while the Pentagon
combined the numbers of dead and wounded -- a figure that should be greater.
Yet Petraeus's numbers were higher than the Pentagon's for the months preceding
this year's increase of U.S. troops to Iraq, and lower since U.S. operations
escalated this summer." ... "The charts are difficult to compare: Petraeus
used monthly figures on a line graph, while the Pentagon computed "Average
Daily Casualties" on a bar chart, and neither included actual numbers."
... "In an Iraq assessment released this month, the Government Accountability
Office said it "could not determine if sectarian violence had declined"
since the U.S. troop buildup began in the spring and saw no decrease in
overall attacks against civilians as of the end of July." ... "The U.S.
intelligence community considers more than numbers in making its war assessments.
"What the Iraqis perceive" about their country and their daily lives "may
be more important than what the numbers are," said a senior intelligence
official, who discussed the subject on the condition of anonymity. Even
so, he said, intelligence officials found contradictions in the available
statistics as they wrote last month's National Intelligence Estimate on
Iraq, whose conclusions were somewhat less optimistic than the military's."
(1, 2)
-By Karen DeYoung -WashingtonPost
Iraq
- US
- Government
- Blackwater
- Company
- Military
- Law
- Politics
- "Where
Military Rules Don't Apply: Blackwater's Security
Force in Iraq Given Wide Latitude by State Dept.." ... "Blackwater USA,
the private security company involved in a Baghdad [Iraq's capital] shootout
last weekend, operated under [Republican President Bush's] State Department
authority that exempted the company from U.S. military regulations governing
other security firms, according to U.S. and Iraqi officials and industry
representatives." ... "In recent months, the State Department's oversight
of Blackwater became a central issue as Iraqi authorities repeatedly clashed
with the company over its aggressive street tactics. Many U.S. and Iraqi
officials and industry representatives said they came to see Blackwater
as untouchable, protected by State Department officials who defended the
company at every turn." ... "The State Department allowed Blackwater's
heavily armed teams to operate without an Interior Ministry license, even
after the requirement became standard language in Defense Department security
contracts. The company was not subject to the military's restrictions on
the use of offensive weapons, its procedures for reporting shooting incidents
or a central tracking system that allows commanders to monitor the movements
of security companies on the battlefield." ... "A one-paragraph subsection
to a 2004 edict issued by the Coalition Provisional Authority, the now-defunct
U.S. occupation government, granted contractors immunity from the Iraqi
legal process. This edict is still in effect. Congress has moved to establish
guidelines for prosecuting contractors under U.S. law or the Uniform Code
of Military Justice, but the issue remains unresolved." ... "The use of
private security skyrocketed in Iraq after the March 2003 invasion because
of troop shortages and growing violence. U.S. authorities have no idea
how many hired guns operate in the country; estimates range from 20,000
to 50,000 or higher." ... "Over the past year, the military has issued
a series of "fragos," or fragmentary orders, designed to impose greater
accountability on security contractors operating under Defense Department
contracts. Blackwater was not covered because it reported to the State
Department." ... "None of the new orders applied to Blackwater, which has
received $678 million in State Department contracts since 2003 and operates
under the department's authority." ... "Blackwater is not required to report
its movements to the military." (1, 2,
3,
4,
5)
-By Steve Fainaru with contributions by Joshua Partlow,
Megan Greenwell, and Julie Tate-WashingtonPost
Howard
J Krongard - US
- Iraq
- Afghanistan
- Military
- Accounting
- Law
- Government
- Employees
- Blackwater
- Money
- Politics
- California
- "State
Dept. Official Accused of Blocking Inquiry." ...
"A top House Democrat began an inquiry on Tuesday into accusations that
the State Department's inspector general repeatedly interfered with investigations
into fraud and abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan, including security defects
at the new United States Embassy in Baghdad [Iraq's capital]." ... "[Democratic]
Representative Henry A. Waxman of California, the chairman of the Committee
on Oversight and Government Reform, sent the inspector general, Howard
J. Krongard, a 14-page letter spelling out accusations made by several
current and former employees of Mr. Krongard's office who documented their
charges with e-mail messages." ... ""One consistent element in these allegations
is that you believe your foremost mission is to support the [Republican
President] Bush administration, especially with respect to Iraq and Afghanistan,
rather than act as an independent and objective check on waste, fraud and
abuse on behalf of U.S. taxpayers," Mr. Waxman wrote. He invited Mr. Krongard
to respond to the accusations at a committee hearing on Oct. 16." ... "Mr.
Waxman told Mr. Krongard that he had been accused of impeding an investigation
of a security company suspected of "illegally smuggling weapons into Iraq."
The Associated Press reported that the unnamed company was Blackwater."
-By David Stout with contributions by Brian Knowlton
-NYTimes
US
- Iraq
- Howard
Krongard
- Blackwater
- Money- Employees
- Military
- Law
- Enforcement
- Politics
- North
Carolina - 
Virginia
- "Rules
of engagement are sketchy when private security firms are deployed in war."
... "The fog of war keeps getting thicker." ... "Iraq's decision to temporarily
ban Blackwater USA after a fatal shooting of civilians in Baghdad [Iraq's
capital] reveals a growing web of rules governing weapons-bearing private
contractors but few signs U.S. agencies are aggressively enforcing them."
... "Nearly a year after a law was passed holding contracted employees
to the same code of justice as military personnel, the [Republican President]
Bush administration has not published guidance on how military lawyers
should do that, according to Peter Singer, a security industry expert at
the Brookings Institution in Washington." ... "Blackwater, based in Moyock,
North Carolina, is one of three private security firms employed by the
State Department to protect its personnel in Iraq. The two others, both
of which are headquartered in the Washington, D.C., suburbs, are Dyncorp,
based in Falls Church, Virginia, and Triple Canopy of Herndon, Virginia."
... "In a letter to Howard Krongard, the State Department inspector general,
the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee said Krongard impeded
a Justice Department probe into claims that a "large private security contractor
was smuggling weapons into Iraq."" ... "Although the security company is
not named in the letter, several senior administration officials confirmed
it is Blackwater." (1, 2)
-AP via -IHT.com
Edwards
- Military- Family
- US
- Iraq
- 
Newspaper
- Ad
- Opinion
- Des-Moines
- Iowa
- 2008
Election - "Elizabeth
Edwards criticizes MoveOn.org ad." ... "MoveOn.org
should not have labeled [General] Gen. David Petraeus “General Betray Us”
in a controversial newspaper ad, Elizabeth Edwards said in Des Moines [Iowa]
Friday." ... "“Someone who’s spent their life in the military doesn’t deserve
‘General Betray Us,’” said Edwards, wife of [2008 election] Democratic
presidential candidate John Edwards." ... "Elizabeth Edwards spoke in an
interview after a Des Moines campaign appearance. She noted that her father
was a career naval officer, and she grew up on Navy bases, so she said
she respects military service." ... "Elizabeth Edwards said the group could
have made its point by simply using Petraeus’ own previous words about
purported good news in Iraq without insulting him personally."
-DesMoinesRegister/News
US
- Iraqi
- Terrorism
- Politics
- "Iraqi
insurgents kill key US ally." ... "A key Sunni ally
of the US and Iraqi governments has been killed in a bomb attack in the
city of Ramadi, Iraqi police and media say." ... "Abdul Sattar Abu Risha
led what was known as the "Anbar Awakening", an alliance of Sunni Arab
tribes that rose up against al-Qaeda in Iraq." ... "The movement helped
reduce violence dramatically and was hailed by the US as an example for
the rest of Iraq." ... "[Republican] President George Bush met and endorsed
him during a visit to Iraq last week." ... "Abu Risha's assassination will
be a severe blow to the "Awakening" in Anbar province, says the BBC's Hugh
Sykes in Baghdad [Iraq's capital]." ... "It may undermine the new movement
against al-Qaeda in Iraq, he says, or it could strengthen resolve in Anbar
to resist the insurgents, who are regarded by an increasing number of people
there as unwelcome invaders." ... "Abu Risha was killed, along with two
bodyguards, by a roadside bomb planted near his home in Ramadi, the capital
of Iraq's western Anbar province." -BBC
/News
US
- Iraqi
- 
United
Arab Emirates - Texas
- Oil
- Money
- Law
- "Compromise
on Oil Law in Iraq Seems to Be Collapsing." ... "A
carefully constructed compromise on a draft law governing Iraq’s rich oil
fields, agreed to in February after months of arduous talks among Iraqi
political groups, appears to have collapsed. The apparent breakdown comes
just as Congress and the [Republican President Bush] White House are struggling
to find evidence that there is progress toward reconciliation and a functioning
government here." ... "Senior Iraqi negotiators met in Baghdad [Iraq's
capital] on Wednesday in an attempt to salvage the original compromise,
two participants said. But the meeting came against the backdrop of a public
series of increasingly strident disagreements over the draft law that had
broken out in recent days between Hussain al-Shahristani, the Iraqi oil
minister, and officials of the provincial government in the Kurdish north,
where some of the nation’s largest [oil] fields are located." ... "The
oil law — which would govern how oil fields are developed and managed —
is one of several benchmarks that the Bush administration has been pressing
the Iraqis to meet as a sign that they are making headway toward creating
an effective government." ... "Contributing to the dispute is the decision
by the Kurds to begin signing contracts with international oil companies
before the federal law is passed. The most recent instance, announced last
week on a Kurdish government Web site, was an oil exploration contract
with the Hunt Oil Company of Dallas [Texas]." ... "The Sunni Arabs who
removed their support for the deal did so, in part, because of a contract
the Kurdish government signed earlier with a company based in the United
Arab Emirates, Dana Gas, to develop gas reserves." (1, 2)
-By James Glanz with contributions by Ahmad Fadam,
Ali Hamdani and Khalid al-Ansary -NYTimes
US
- Iraqi
- United
Arab Emirates - Texas
- Oil
- Money
- Law
- "Compromise
on Oil Law in Iraq Seems to Be Collapsing." ... "A
carefully constructed compromise on a draft law governing Iraq’s rich oil
fields, agreed to in February after months of arduous talks among Iraqi
political groups, appears to have collapsed. The apparent breakdown comes
just as Congress and the [Republican President Bush] White House are struggling
to find evidence that there is progress toward reconciliation and a functioning
government here." ... "Senior Iraqi negotiators met in Baghdad [Iraq's
capital] on Wednesday in an attempt to salvage the original compromise,
two participants said. But the meeting came against the backdrop of a public
series of increasingly strident disagreements over the draft law that had
broken out in recent days between Hussain al-Shahristani, the Iraqi oil
minister, and officials of the provincial government in the Kurdish north,
where some of the nation’s largest [oil] fields are located." ... "The
oil law — which would govern how oil fields are developed and managed —
is one of several benchmarks that the Bush administration has been pressing
the Iraqis to meet as a sign that they are making headway toward creating
an effective government." ... "Contributing to the dispute is the decision
by the Kurds to begin signing contracts with international oil companies
before the federal law is passed. The most recent instance, announced last
week on a Kurdish government Web site, was an oil exploration contract
with the Hunt Oil Company of Dallas [Texas]." ... "The Sunni Arabs who
removed their support for the deal did so, in part, because of a contract
the Kurdish government signed earlier with a company based in the United
Arab Emirates, Dana Gas, to develop gas reserves." (1, 2)
-By James Glanz with contributions by Ahmad Fadam,
Ali Hamdani and Khalid al-Ansary -NYTimes
US
- Iraq
- Op-Ed
- Politics
- "Two
of Seven Soldiers Who Wrote 'NYT' Op-Ed Die in Iraq."
... "The Op-Ed by seven active duty U.S. soldiers in Iraq questioning the
war drew international attention just three weeks ago. Now two of the seven
are dead." ... "Sgt. Omar Mora and Sgt. Yance T. Gray died Monday in a
vehicle accident in western Baghdad [Iraq's capital], two of seven U.S.
troops killed in the incident which was reported just as Gen. David Petraeus
was about to report to Congress on progress in the "surge." The names have
just been released." ... "Gen. Petraeus was questioned about the message
of the op-ed in testimony before a Senate committee yesterday." ... "The
controversial Times column on Aug. 19 was called "The War As We Saw It,"
and expressed skepticism about American gains in Iraq. “To believe that
Americans, with an occupying force that long ago outlived its reluctant
welcome, can win over a recalcitrant local population and win this counterinsurgency
is far-fetched,” the group wrote." -By Greg Mitchell
-EditorAndPublisher.com
US
- Iraq
- Military
- California
- 
Nevada
- NC
- "Petraeus,
Crocker Face Skepticism on Drawdown." ... "Plans
by [Republican] President Bush to announce a withdrawal of up to 30,000
U.S. troops from Iraq by next summer drew sharp criticism yesterday from
Democratic leaders and a handful of Republicans in Congress, who vowed
to try again to force Bush to accept a more dramatic change of policy."
... "A second day of testimony by Gen. [General] David H. Petraeus, the
U.S. commander in Iraq, and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker yielded some of
the most biting GOP [Republican] objections since the president announced
his troop buildup in January. Several Republicans joined Democrats in saying
that Petraeus's proposal to draw down troops through the middle of next
summer would result only in force levels equivalent to where they stood
before the increase began, about 130,000 troops." ... "[House Speaker,
California Democratic Representative Nancy] Pelosi said she told Bush that
he was essentially endorsing a 10-year "open-ended commitment." [Senate
Majority Leader, Nevada Democratic Senator Harry] Reid said the president
wants "no change in mission -- this is more of the same."" ... "Even [North
Carolina Republican Senator] Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.), a mainstream
conservative who has never publicly strayed from the administration's position
on Iraq, made it clear that she would now support "what some have called
action-forcing measures."" ... ""The difficulty of the current American
and Iraqi situation is rooted in large part in the Bush administration's
substantial failure to understand the full implications of our military
invasion and the litany of mistakes made at the outset of the war," Dole
said." (1, 2)
-By Michael Abramowitz and Jonathan Weisman
-WashingtonPost
US
- Iraq
- Military
- Safety
- Politics
- Lawmakers
- Va
- "Senate
grills Petraeus on Iraq strategy." ... "GOP [Republican]
lawmakers including some of the party's most respected voices on foreign
policy demonstrated at the hearings that they are not quietly following
the [Republican President Bush] White House script. In some instances,
their criticism was almost as scathing as that of the most hostile Democrats."
... "And [Virginia Republican Senator] Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), the former
chairman of the Armed Services Committee and a former secretary of the
Navy, sharply dismissed [U.S. Ambassador Ryan] Crocker's talk of reaching
a national reconciliation in Iraq." ... ""That's what's been said at this
table for a long time, sir," Warner said. "And ... it hasn't happened.""
... "Warner, one of the Senate's most influential policymakers when it
comes to the military, urged [General David] Petraeus to tell the president
if he disagrees with him on his strategy." ... ""I hope in the recesses
of your heart," Warner said, "that you know that strategy will continue
the casualties, stress on our forces, stress on military families, stress
on all Americans."" ... "Finally, Warner concluded with a question: "Are
you able to say at this time, if we continue what you have laid before
the Congress here as a strategy, do you feel that that is making America
safer?"" ... "Petraeus said the strategy is the best course for achieving
U.S. objectives in Iraq." ... ""Does that make America safer?" pushed Warner."
... "Said Petraeus, "Sir, I don't know, actually. I have not sat down and
sorted it out in my own mind."" (1, 2)
-By Jill Zuckman -ChicagoTribune
US
- Iraq
- Global
- Military
- 
Del
- Ind
- 
Neb
- 2008
Election - "Iraq
Progress Hearing Quotes." ... "Quotes from Tuesday's
Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services committee hearings on progress
in Iraq featuring testimony from Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan
Crocker." ... ""The fact of the matter is that American lives remain in
jeopardy and, as I said, if every single jihadi in the world was killed
tomorrow, we'd still have a major, major war on our hands." - [Delaware
Democratic Senator and 2008 election Presidential Candidate] Sen. Joseph
Biden, D-Del." ... ""At this stage of the conflict, with our military strained
by Iraq deployments, our global advantages being diminished by the weight
of our burden in Iraq, it is not enough for the [Republican President Bush]
administration to counsel patience until the next milestone or the next
report. We need to see a strategy for how our troops and other resources
in Iraq might be employed to fundamentally change the equation." - [Indiana
Republican Senator] Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind." ... ""The other part of
this is that it seems to me logical that when you flood a zone with more
troops, when you put more troops in Baghdad or Anbar province, you're going
to see some consequence to that, you're going to see some result. So I
don't think that's particularly news, that where we have inserted more
American troops, costing more American lives, we've seen some differences."
- [Nebraska Republican Senator] Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb." ... ""It's not
your fault, General. It's not Ambassador Crocker's fault. It's this [Republican
President Bush] administration's fault." - Hagel."
-AP via -Forbes
US
- Iraq
- Military
- Intelligence- Accounting
- Politics
- "Numbers
cast doubt on U.S. claims: Analysts questioning military
counts of civilian casualties." ... "Gen. David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador
Ryan Crocker emphasized signs of progress in Iraq during their presentation
to Congress on Monday and frequently interpreted events in the most optimistic
light while downplaying more troubling signs." ... "A review of war statistics
provides a number of examples in which the officials' analysis seemed incomplete."
... "For example, Petraeus placed a heavy emphasis on U.S. military figures
showing a 45 percent drop in civilian deaths in Iraq since the peak of
sectarian violence in December 2006 and a 55 percent drop in killings that
the military judged "ethno-sectarian." But the December 2006 time frame
that Petraeus used for the comparison was a high point in sectarian violence
that predated the U.S. troop "surge."" ... "[Republican] President Bush
announced the surge in January and the first U.S. troops under the strategy
arrived in Iraq in late February. By then, violence already had subsided
somewhat from the unprecedented levels of sectarian strife that racked
Baghdad in 2006. Also, in previous years, there has been a surge of violence
in Iraq during Ramadan, the monthlong Islamic holiday that begins later
this week." ... "Analysts inside and outside the government, including
the General Accountability Office in a recent report, also have questioned
the military's counting of civilian casualties." ... "The Associated Press
counted 1,809 civilian deaths in August, its second-highest monthly total
this year." -By Mike Dorning with contributions by
Aamer Madhani -ChicagoTribune
US
- Iraq
- Military
- Poll
- Delaware
- 
Massachusetts
- 
Election
2008 - "Democrats
Say They Will Keep Pressing for U.S. Iraq Withdrawal."
... "Congressional Democrats said they will keep pressing for a withdrawal
of American forces from Iraq even if Army General David Petraeus, the top
U.S. military commander there, argues for more time." ... "[2008 election
Democratic Presidential Candidate and Delaware Senator] Joseph Biden, chairman
of the Senate Foreign Relations committee, said [Republican] President
George W. Bush's strategy of deploying more U.S. troops in Iraq this year
has failed because the Iraqi government didn't achieve the political stability
that Bush said was possible if security improved. [Massachusetts Democratic]
Senator Edward Kennedy said American forces are being ``held hostage''
by the ineffectiveness of Iraq's elected leaders." ... "``The reality is
that we were supposed to stand up the Iraqis so that the Americans could
stand down,'' Biden, a Delaware Democrat who recently visited Iraq, said
on NBC's ``Meet the Press'' program. ``We've been hearing that for five
years. We're nowhere near being able to do that.''" ... "A Washington Post/ABC
News poll released today shows 53 percent of Americans say they expect
Petraeus will try to make the situation in Iraq look better than it is.
The latest New York Times/CBS News poll, also released today, showed that
62 percent of those polled said the U.S. made a mistake getting involved
in Iraq, and 45 percent said Bush's troop increase hasn't had an impact
on the situation in Iraq." -By Nadine Elsibai
-Bloomberg
US
- Iraq
- Military
- Accounting
- Politics
- "Iraq
debate is sea of statistics." ... "In vertical bars
of blue, green, gray and red, a briefing chart prepared by the Defense
Intelligence Agency says what Gen. David Petraeus won't." ... "Insurgent
attacks against Iraqi civilians, their security forces and U.S. troops
remain high, according to the document obtained by The Associated Press.
It is a conclusion that the well-regarded Army officer who is the top U.S.
commander in Iraq is expected to try to counter when he and Ryan Crocker,
the U.S. ambassador in Baghdad [Iraq's capital], testify before Congress
on Monday and Tuesday." ... "More than four years into a conflict initially
thought to be a cakewalk, the war has become a battle of statistics, graphs
and conflicting assessments of progress in a country of more than 27 million
people." ... "The defense intelligence chart makes the point, with figures
from Petraeus' command in Baghdad, the Multinational Force-Iraq. Congressional
auditors used the same numbers to conclude that Iraqis are as unsafe now
as they were six months ago; the [Republican President] Bush administration
and military officials also using those figures say that finding is flawed."
-By
Richard Lardner -AP
via -Yahoo
US
- Iraq
- Afghanistan
- Iran
- Military
- Media
- Marketing
- Intelligence
- Politics
- Ill
- "Among
Top Officials, 'Surge' Has Sparked Dissent, Infighting."
... "For two hours, [Republican] President Bush listened to contrasting
visions of the U.S. future in Iraq. Gen. David H. Petraeus dominated the
conversation by video link from Baghdad [Iraq's capital], making the case
to keep as many troops as long as possible to cement any security progress.
Adm. William J. Fallon, his superior, argued instead for accepting more
risks in Iraq, officials said, in order to have enough forces available
to confront other potential threats in the region." ... "The polite discussion
in the White House Situation Room a week ago masked a sharper clash over
the U.S. venture in Iraq, one that has been building since Fallon, chief
of the U.S. Central Command, which oversees Middle East operations, sent
a rear admiral to Baghdad this summer to gather information. Soon afterward,
officials said, Fallon began developing plans to redefine the U.S. mission
and radically draw down troops." ... "One of those plans, according to
a Centcom officer, involved slashing U.S. combat forces in Iraq by three-quarters
by 2010. In an interview, Fallon disputed that description but declined
to offer details. Nonetheless, his efforts offended Petraeus's team, which
saw them as unwelcome intrusion on their own long-term planning. The profoundly
different views of the U.S. role in Iraq only exacerbated the schism between
the two men." ... "Fallon, who took command of Centcom in March, worried
that Iraq was undermining the military's ability to confront other threats,
such as Iran. "When he took over, the reality hit him that he had to deal
with Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa and a whole bunch of other stuff besides
Iraq," said a top military officer." ... "Fallon was also derisive of Iraqi
leaders' intentions and competence, and dubious about the surge. "He's
been saying from Day One, 'This isn't working,' " said a senior administration
official. And Fallon signaled his departure from Bush by ordering subordinates
to avoid the term "long war" -- a phrase the president used to describe
the fight against terrorism." ... "To Bush aides, [defense secretary Robert]
Gates did not seem fully on board with the president's strategy, either.
As a member of the congressionally chartered Iraq Study Group before his
selection to head the Pentagon, Gates embraced proposals to scale back
the U.S. presence in Iraq. Now that he was in the Cabinet, he kept his
own counsel." ... "Another new arrival in the [Republican President Bush's]
West Wing set up a rapid-response PR unit hard-wired into Petraeus's shop.
Ed Gillespie, the new presidential counselor, organized daily conference
calls at 7:45 a.m. and again late in the afternoon between the White House,
the Pentagon, the State Department, and the U.S. Embassy and military in
Baghdad to map out ways of selling the surge." ... "From the start of the
Bush plan, the White House communications office had been blitzing an e-mail
list of as many as 5,000 journalists, lawmakers, lobbyists, conservative
bloggers, military groups and others with talking points or rebuttals of
criticism. Between Jan. 10 and last week, the office put out 94 such documents
in various categories -- "Myths/Facts" or "Setting the Record Straight"
to take issue with negative news articles, and "In Case You Missed It"
to distribute positive articles or speeches." ... "Petraeus was doing his
part in Baghdad, hosting dozens of lawmakers and military scholars for
PowerPoint presentations on why the Bush strategy had made gains." ...
"Some visitors suspected a skewed picture. "We only saw things that reinforced
their message that the surge was working," said [Illinois Democratic Representative]
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.)." (1, 2,
3,
4)
-By Peter Baker, Karen DeYoung, Thomas E. Ricks, Ann
Scott Tyson, Joby Warrick and Robin Wright with contributions by Julie
Tate -WashingtonPost
Chuck
Hagel - US
- Iraq
- Military
- History
- Nebraska
- Virginia
- 2008
Election - "Senator
Hagel retiring, not running for president." ... "[Republican
Senator] Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, a harsh critic of the Iraq war,
plans to retire and will not seek the Republican [2008 election] presidential
nomination next year, a source said on Saturday." ... "Last week, Republican
U.S. [Republican Senator] Sen. John Warner of Virginia said he would not
run for re-election [in 2008]." ... "Hagel, who earned two Purple Hearts
as a combat soldier during the Vietnam War, has been a harsh critic of
the [Republican President] Bush administration's Iraq strategy. In January,
he denounced President George W. Bush's plan for a U.S. troop buildup in
Iraq as "the worst foreign policy blunder since Vietnam -- if it's carried
out."" ... "Hagel has been among a handful of Senate Republicans supporting
legislation that would set an April 30, 2008, deadline for U.S. troops
in Iraq to begin withdrawing." (1, 2)
-Reuters
US
- Iraq
- "US
troops levels edge toward new record." ... "The number
of U.S. troops in Iraq has climbed to a record high of 168,000, and is
moving toward a peak of 172,000 in the coming weeks - a level that could
extend into December, a senior military official said Thursday."
-AP via -SeattlePI
US
- Iraq
- Military
- Intelligence
- Politics
- "Experts
Doubt Drop In Violence in Iraq: Military Statistics
Called Into Question." ... "The U.S. military's claim that violence has
decreased sharply in Iraq in recent months has come under scrutiny from
many experts within and outside the government, who contend that some of
the underlying statistics are questionable and selectively ignore negative
trends." ... "Reductions in violence form the centerpiece of the Bush administration's
claim that its war strategy is working. In congressional testimony Monday,
Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, is expected
to cite a 75 percent decrease in sectarian attacks. According to senior
U.S. military officials in Baghdad, overall attacks in Iraq were down to
960 a week in August, compared with 1,700 a week in June, and civilian
casualties had fallen 17 percent between December 2006 and last month.
Unofficial Iraqi figures show a similar decrease." ... "Others who have
looked at the full range of U.S. government statistics on violence, however,
accuse the military of cherry-picking positive indicators and caution that
the numbers -- most of which are classified -- are often confusing and
contradictory. "Let's just say that there are several different sources
within the administration on violence, and those sources do not agree,"
Comptroller General David Walker told Congress on Tuesday in releasing
a new Government Accountability Office report on Iraq." ... "Senior U.S.
officers in Baghdad disputed the accuracy and conclusions of the largely
negative GAO report, which they said had adopted a flawed counting methodology
used by the CIA and the Defense Intelligence Agency. Many of those conclusions
were also reflected in last month's pessimistic National Intelligence Estimate
on Iraq." ... "The intelligence community has its own problems with military
calculations. Intelligence analysts computing aggregate levels of violence
against civilians for the NIE puzzled over how the military designated
attacks as combat, sectarian or criminal, according to one senior intelligence
official in Washington. "If a bullet went through the back of the head,
it's sectarian," the official said. "If it went through the front, it's
criminal."" (1, 2)
-By Karen DeYoung -WashingtonPost
US
- Iraq
- Military
- Religious
- Politics
- "Iraq
says won't disband police despite U.S. report." ...
"Iraq's Interior Ministry said on Thursday it would not disband the national
police despite a report by an independent U.S. panel that will recommend
scrapping and reorganizing the force." ... "But police interviewed by Reuters
on the streets of Baghdad [Iraq's capital] spoke despairingly of a force
they saw as harboring criminal elements, too weak to tackle militias and
with many police loyal to their sect rather than the state." ... ""The
national police have proven operationally ineffective," said the panel
headed by retired General James Jones, the former top U.S. military commander
in Europe." ... ""Sectarianism in its units undermines its ability to provide
security; the force is not viable in its current form," the report said.
"The national police should be disbanded and reorganized."" ... "The mostly
Shi'ite force is widely believed to be infiltrated by Shi'ite militias
and its members are often accused of colluding in sectarian violence against
minority Sunni Arabs and roadside bomb attacks on U.S. forces." (1, 2,
3)
-By Ross Colvin with contributions by Waleed Ibrahim
and Susan Cornwell -Reuters
US
- Iraq
- Military
- Police
- Politics
- "Iraqi
Army Unable To Take Over Within A Year, Report Says:
Breakup of National Police Is Urged." ... "Iraq's army, despite measurable
progress, will be unable to take over internal security from U.S. forces
in the next 12 to 18 months and "cannot yet meaningfully contribute to
denying terrorists safe haven," according to a report on the Iraqi security
forces published today." ... "The report, prepared by a commission of retired
senior U.S. military officers, describes the 25,000-member Iraqi national
police force and the Interior Ministry, which controls it, as riddled with
sectarianism and corruption. The ministry, it says, is "dysfunctional"
and is "a ministry in name only." The commission recommended that the national
police force be disbanded." ... "The report expresses concern about what
it calls the massive U.S. military logistical "footprint" in Iraq and its
effect on perceptions and problems. "The unintended message conveyed is
one of 'permanence,' an occupying force, as it were," the report says.
It recommends reconsideration of "efficiency, necessity . . . and cost"
and calls for "significant reductions, consolidations and realignments"
of U.S. forces." ... "Although the administration has said repeatedly that
security improvements will create "breathing space" for Iraqi sectarian
and political forces to move toward national reconciliation, the commission
turns that equation on its head, saying that long-term security advances
are impossible without political progress." ... "Despite all that remains
to be done on the military front, it says, "the single most important event
that could immediately and favorably affect Iraq's direction and security
is political reconciliation. . . . Sustained progress within the Iraqi
Security Forces depends on such a political agreement." All progress, it
concludes, "seems to flow from this most pressing requirement."" (1, 2)
-By Karen DeYoung -WashingtonPost
US
- Iraq
- Military
- Intelligence
- Politics-
[PDF]
- "THE
REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT COMMISSION ON THE SECURITY FORCES OF IRAQ. [PDF
Part 1a]" (PDFs: Part 1b,
2a,2b)
-General
James L. Jones, USMC (Ret.), Chairman -via
-CNN
Jim
Inhofe - 
Oklahoma
- Terrorism
- Iraq
- US
- Military
- 2008
Election
US
- Iraq- Military
- Hurricane
Katrina - Historical
- Secrets
- Archive
- Electronic
- Messages
- Presidential
Records Act - Government
- E-Mail
- Politics-
"White
House sued again over e-mail." ... "The [law]suit
by the National Security Archive, a private group, is the latest effort
to find out whether the [Republican President] Bush administration lost
millions of electronic messages." ... ""The period covers the period beginning
with the Iraq war until the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina; it doesn't
get more historically valuable than that," said Tom Blanton, director of
the private organization, which advocates public disclosure of government
secrets." ... "The Federal Records Act and the Presidential Records Act
require that e-mail be preserved." -By Pete Yost-AP
via -SeattlePI
US
- Iraq
- Military
- Construction
- Money
- Politics
- Government
- Accounting
- Investigations
- Texas
- Oil
- Water
- "Iraq
Contractors Tap Law Firms: A civil 'war zone' of
investigation." ... "The war in Iraq has an army of high-profile attorneys
working to steer defense contractors through a minefield of lawsuits and
federal investigations involving war profiteering and fraud." ... "During
the past year, several defense contractors hired to help rebuild Iraq have
come under federal investigation or faced litigation for allegedly defrauding
the government. Government officials estimate that $10 billion in Iraq-related
contracts are unaccounted for and may have been lost to fraud or other
misconduct." ... "Currently, about 80 federal investigations looking into
contract fraud are under way, and more than 20 cases have been referred
to the Department of Justice for prosecution, according to congressional
testimony offered by federal auditors. During the last three years, contract
fraud investigations have yielded 10 arrests, five indictments, five convictions
and two imprisonments." ... "High-caliber law firms have lined up to help
guide defense contractors through investigations and prosecutions and relieve
their fears of prosecution, not receiving payment or being banned from
doing business with the government." ... "Akin Gump Strauss Hauer &
Feld and Vinson & Elkins of Houston [Texas] are representing former
Halliburton subsidiary KBR Inc., which is facing scrutiny over a $25.7
billion contract to help rebuild oil services in Iraq." ... "Patton Boggs
of Washington has come to the aid of Halliburton, the largest private contractor
in Iraq, which is facing congressional scrutiny." ... "Washington's Brand
Law Group is advising Fluor, a U.S. engineering and construction firm that
is facing questions over its $1.1 billion water and sewage contract in
Iraq. " -By Tresa Baldas
-NLJ.com via -Law.com
US
- Iraq
- Political
- Terrorism
- People
-
- "Troop
buildup fails to reconcile Iraq." ... "The U.S. military
buildup that was supposed to calm Baghdad [Iraq's capital] and other trouble
spots has failed to usher in national reconciliation, as the capital's
neighborhoods rupture even further along sectarian lines, violence shifts
elsewhere and Iraq's government remains mired in political infighting."
... "In the coming days, U.S. military and government leaders will offer
Congress their assessment of the 6-month-old plan's results. But a review
of statistics on death and displacement, political developments and the
impressions of Iraqis who are living under the heightened military presence
reaches a dispiriting conclusion." ... "The number of Iraqis fleeing their
homes has increased, not decreased, according to the United Nations' International
Organization for Migration and Iraq's Ministry for Displacement and Migration."
... "Military officials say sectarian killings in Baghdad are down more
than 51% and attacks on civilians and security forces across Iraq have
decreased. But this has not translated into a substantial drop in civilian
deaths as insurgents take their lethal trade to more remote regions. Last
month, as many as 400 people were killed in a bombing in a village near
the Syrian border, the worst bombing since the war began in March 2003.
In July, 150 people were reported killed in a village about 100 miles north
of Baghdad." ... "In February, the civilian death toll was 1,646. Last
month, it was 1,773, according to numbers from officials in the ministries
of Defense, Interior and Health, who cite morgue, hospital and police reports.
It was the second straight month that casualties have increased since the
security plan began." (1, 2)
-By Tina Susman, Julian E. Barnes, and Alexandra Zavis
-LAtimes
US
- Iraq
- Military
- Intelligence
- 
Douglas
Feith
- "Envoy’s
Letters Counter Bush on Plan for Iraq." ... "A previously
undisclosed exchange of letters shows that [Republican] President Bush
was told in advance by his top Iraq envoy in May 2003 of a plan to “dissolve
Saddam’s military and intelligence structures,” a plan that the envoy,
L. Paul Bremer, said referred to dismantling the Iraqi Army." ... "Mr.
Bremer provided the letters to The New York Times on Monday after reading
that Mr. Bush was quoted in a new book as saying that American policy had
been “to keep the army intact” but that it “didn’t happen.”" ... "The dismantling
of the Iraqi Army in the aftermath of the American invasion is now widely
regarded as a mistake that stoked rebellion among hundreds of thousands
of former Iraqi soldiers and made it more difficult to reduce sectarian
bloodshed and attacks by insurgents. In releasing the letters, Mr. Bremer
said he wanted to refute the suggestion in Mr. Bush’s comment that Mr.
Bremer had acted to disband the army without the knowledge and concurrence
of the White House." ... "“We must make it clear to everyone that we mean
business: that Saddam and the Baathists are finished,” Mr. Bremer wrote
in a letter that was drafted on May 20, 2003, and sent to the president
on May 22 through Donald H. Rumsfeld, then secretary of defense." ... "Mr.
Bremer said he sent a draft of the proposed order on May 9, shortly before
he departed for his new post in Baghdad [Iraq's capital], to Mr. Rumsfeld
and other top Pentagon officials." ... "Among others who received the draft
order, he said, were Paul D. Wolfowitz, then the deputy secretary of defense;
Douglas J. Feith, then under secretary of defense for policy; Lt. Gen.
David D. McKiernan, then head of the American-led coalition forces in Iraq;
and the Joint Chiefs of Staff." -By Edmund L. Andrews
with contributions by Michael R. Gordon -NYTimes
US
- Iraq
- Military
- Intelligence
- Political
- Marketing
- Lawmakers
- Va
- Calif
- Nev
- "Lawmakers
Describe 'Being Slimed in the Green Zone'." ... "The
sheets of paper seemed to be everywhere the lawmakers went in the Green
Zone, distributed to Iraqi officials, U.S. officials and uniformed military
of no particular rank. So when [Virginia Democratic Representative] Rep.
James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.) asked a soldier last weekend just what he was
holding, the congressman was taken aback to find out." ... "In the soldier's
hand was a thumbnail biography, distributed before each of the congressmen's
meetings in Baghdad, which let meeting participants such as that soldier
know where each of the lawmakers stands on the war. "Moran on Iraq policy,"
read one section, going on to cite some the congressman's most incendiary
statements, such as, "This has been the worst foreign policy fiasco in
American history."" ... "The bio of [California Democratic Representative]
Rep. Ellen O. Tauscher (D-Calif.) -- "TAU (rhymes with 'now')-sher," the
bio helpfully relates -- was no less pointed, even if she once supported
the war and has taken heat from liberal Bay Area constituents who remain
wary of her position. "Our forces are caught in the middle of an escalating
sectarian conflict in Iraq, with no end in sight," the bio quotes." ...
""This is beyond parsing. This is being slimed in the Green Zone," Tauscher
said of her bio." ... "Brief, choreographed and carefully controlled, the
codels (short for congressional delegations) often have showed only what
the Pentagon and the [Republican President] Bush administration have wanted
the lawmakers to see. At one point, as Moran, Tauscher and [Nevada Republican
Representative] Rep. Jon Porter (R-Nev.) were heading to lunch in the fortified
Green Zone, an American urgently tried to get their attention, apparently
to voice concerns about the war effort, the participants said. Security
whisked the man away before he could make his point." ... "Tauscher called
it "the Green Zone fog."" ... ""Spin City," Moran grumbled. "The Iraqis
and the Americans were all singing from the same song sheet, and it was
deliberately manipulated."" -By Jonathan Weisman
-WashingtonPost
US
- Iraq
- Kuwait
- Government
- Army
- Money
- Accounting- Politics
- "U.S.
Says Company Bribed Officers for Work in Iraq." ...
"An American-owned company operating from Kuwait paid hundreds of thousands
of dollars in bribes to American contracting officers in efforts to win
more than $11 million in contracts, the government says in court documents."
... "The Army last month suspended the company, Lee Dynamics International,
from doing business with the government, and the case now appears to be
at the center of a contracting fraud scandal that prompted Defense Secretary
Robert M. Gates to dispatch the Pentagon inspector general to Iraq to investigate."
... "A lawyer for the company denied the accusations." ... "The company
has been known as American Logistics Services." ... "The case is now part
of a broader investigation in which the Army has a high-level team reviewing
18,000 contracts valued at more than $3 billion that the Kuwait office
has awarded over four years." ... "As the case expands, investigators are
looking at the possibility that it has connections to what had appeared
to be a separate major corruption scandal. Last week, Maj. John Cockerham,
a former Army contracting officer in Kuwait, and his wife and his sister
were indicted on charges that they accepted up to $9.6 million in bribes
for defense contracts in Iraq and Kuwait." (1, 2)
-By Eric Schmitt and James Glanz with contributions
by Margot Williams -NYTimes
US
- Iraq
- Military
- Intelligence
- Accounting
- Legislation
- Reconstruction
- Money
- "Report
Finds Little Progress On Iraq Goals: GAO Draft at
Odds With [Republican President Bush] White House." ... "Iraq has failed
to meet all but three of 18 congressionally mandated benchmarks for political
and military progress, according to a draft of a Government Accountability
Office report. The document questions whether some aspects of a more positive
assessment by the White House last month adequately reflected the range
of views the GAO found within the administration." ... "The strikingly
negative GAO draft, which will be delivered to Congress in final form on
Tuesday, comes as the White House prepares to deliver its own new benchmark
report in the second week of September, along with congressional testimony
from Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and Ambassador
Ryan C. Crocker. They are expected to describe significant security improvements
and offer at least some promise for political reconciliation in Iraq."
... "The draft provides a stark assessment of the tactical effects of the
current U.S.-led counteroffensive to secure Baghdad. "While the Baghdad
security plan was intended to reduce sectarian violence, U.S. agencies
differ on whether such violence has been reduced," it states. While there
have been fewer attacks against U.S. forces, it notes, the number of attacks
against Iraqi civilians remains unchanged. It also finds that "the capabilities
of Iraqi security forces have not improved."" ... ""Overall," the report
concludes, "key legislation has not been passed, violence remains high,
and it is unclear whether the Iraqi government will spend $10 billion in
reconstruction funds," as promised. While it makes no policy" ... "The
person who provided the draft report to The Post said it was being conveyed
from a government official who feared that its pessimistic conclusions
would be watered down in the final version -- as some officials have said
happened with security judgments in this month's National Intelligence
Estimate on Iraq." -By Karen DeYoung and Thomas E.
Ricks -WashingtonPost
US
- Iraq
- Afghanistan
- Military
- Politics
- "Bush
Wants $50 Billion More for Iraq War: Planned Request
Signals Confidence That Congress Won't Prevail on Pullout." ... "[Republican]
President Bush plans to ask Congress next month for up to $50 billion in
additional funding for the war in Iraq, a White House official said yesterday,
a move that appears to reflect increasing administration confidence that
it can fend off congressional calls for a rapid drawdown of U.S. forces."
... "The request -- which would come on top of about $460 billion in the
fiscal 2008 defense budget and $147 billion in a pending supplemental bill
to fund the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq -- is expected to be announced
after congressional hearings scheduled for mid-September featuring the
two top U.S. officials in Iraq. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus and Ambassador
Ryan C. Crocker will assess the state of the war and the effect of the
new strategy the U.S. military has pursued this year." ... "The request
is being prepared now in the belief that Congress will be unlikely to balk
so soon after hearing the two officials argue that there are promising
developments in Iraq but that they need more time to solidify the progress
they have made, a congressional aide said." -By Thomas
E. Ricks with contributions by Jonathan Weisman and Karen DeYoung
-WashingtonPost
Iraqi
- US
- Immigration
- Politics
- Government
- Military
- Employees
- Foreign
- Companies
- Travel
- 
Jordan
- Syria
- United
Nations - "Obstacles
Keep Iraqi Refugees From U.S.." ... "Despite a stepped-up
commitment from the United States to take in Iraqis who are in danger because
they worked for the American government and military, very few are signing
up to go, resettlement officials say." ... "The reason, Iraqis say, is
that they are not allowed to apply in Iraq, requiring them to make a costly
and uncertain journey to countries like Syria or Jordan, where they may
be turned away by border officials already overwhelmed by fleeing Iraqis."
... "The United Nations, which defines a refugee as someone who has fled
his or her home country, has submitted more than 9,000 Iraqis to the United
States for consideration since the State Department announced a new resettlement
program in February." ... "But only about 5 percent of the applicants are
former employees of the American war effort, according to figures provided
by the United Nations and the International Organization for Migration,
the agencies processing the cases." ... "But thousands more Iraqis work
for the United States through contractors like Titan, a subsidiary of L-3
Communications; DynCorp International; Parsons Corporation; and Triple
Canopy, and their subcontractors." ... "In all, 69,000 Iraqis work on contracts
with the Department of Defense through Iraqi and foreign companies, according
to the American military." ... "More than 40,000 Iraqis have registered
with the United Nations in Jordan and 90,000 more in Syria, out of an estimated
2 million who have fled Iraq, but not all qualify for refugee status."
(1, 2)
-By Sabrina Tavernise and David Rohde with contributions
by Mudhafar al-Husaini and Yusra al-Hakeem -NYTimes
US
- Iraq
- Military
- Television
- 
Radio
- Online
- "PEJ
Study: War Coverage Down, Campaign Reporting Up."
... "Coverage of events related to the Iraq War decreased during the second
quarter of 2007, but remained the top news issue, according to the Project
for Excellence in Journalism, which noted 15% of stories across print,
broadcast and online dealt with Iraq-related issues." ... "That is down
from 22% during the first quarter of the year. As in the first quarter,
the Fox News Channel devoted roughly half as much coverage to the war (8%)
than its rivals, CNN (18%) and MSNBC (15%)." ... "The PEJ study focused
on 48 different outlets from five sectors of the media -- newspapers, broadcast
television, radio, online, and cable." -By Joe Strupp
-EditorAndPublisher.com
US
- Iraq
- Military
- Political
- Press
- Religion
- Terrorism
- Police
- Money
- "The
War as We Saw It." ... "Viewed from Iraq at the tail
end of a 15-month deployment, the political debate in Washington is indeed
surreal. Counterinsurgency is, by definition, a competition between insurgents
and counterinsurgents for the control and support of a population. To believe
that Americans, with an occupying force that long ago outlived its reluctant
welcome, can win over a recalcitrant local population and win this counterinsurgency
is far-fetched. As responsible infantrymen and noncommissioned officers
with the 82nd Airborne Division soon heading back home, we are skeptical
of recent press coverage portraying the conflict as increasingly manageable
and feel it has neglected the mounting civil, political and social unrest
we see every day. (Obviously, these are our personal views and should not
be seen as official within our chain of command.)" ... "The claim that
we are increasingly in control of the battlefields in Iraq is an assessment
arrived at through a flawed, American-centered framework. Yes, we are militarily
superior, but our successes are offset by failures elsewhere. What soldiers
call the “battle space” remains the same, with changes only at the margins.
It is crowded with actors who do not fit neatly into boxes: Sunni extremists,
Al Qaeda terrorists, Shiite militiamen, criminals and armed tribes. This
situation is made more complex by the questionable loyalties and Janus-faced
role of the Iraqi police and Iraqi Army, which have been trained and armed
at United States taxpayers’ expense." ... "A few nights ago, for example,
we witnessed the death of one American soldier and the critical wounding
of two others when a lethal armor-piercing explosive was detonated between
an Iraqi Army checkpoint and a police one. Local Iraqis readily testified
to American investigators that Iraqi police and Army officers escorted
the triggermen and helped plant the bomb. These civilians highlighted their
own predicament: had they informed the Americans of the bomb before the
incident, the Iraqi Army, the police or the local Shiite militia would
have killed their families." ... "As many grunts will tell you, this is
a near-routine event." (1, 2)
-By Buddhika Jayamaha, Wesley D. Smith, Jeremy Roebuck,
Omar Mora, Edward Sandmeier, Yance T. Gray, and Jeremy A. Murphy
-NYTimes
US
- Iraq
- Afghanistan
- Military
- Computer
- Training
- "Army
cuts time spent on training: Aims to bolster front
lines quickly." ... "The US Army, struggling to cope with stepped-up operations
and extended deployments of its soldiers to Iraq [and Afghanistan], has
shortened the duration of several of its bedrock training courses so that
troops can return to fighting units on the front lines more quickly, according
to senior training officials." ... "One training course that is considered
the "first step" in educating newly minted sergeants -- the noncommissioned
officers considered the backbone of Army units -- has been cut in half
to 15 days. Meanwhile, an intensive program designed to prepare young officers
for advanced leadership has been compressed from eight months to less than
five months so that the Army can fill positions in constant demand from
commanders in the Middle East." ... "In a series of interviews in recent
weeks, Army training officials expressed confidence that soldiers are able
to master the skills they need to perform their jobs, and stressed that
their units are gaining invaluable, real-time experience in both wars.
But they also acknowledged that it is becoming increasingly difficult to
prepare them for all the missions they are assigned, such as tank crews
and artillery battalions that are participating in patrols and counterinsurgency
operations." ... "To help compensate for less time in the classroom, the
Army has established a growing number of mobile training teams. These small
groups of instructors, relying on computers and other advancements, bring
some training courses to soldiers in the field." -By
Bryan Bender -Boston/Globe
US
- Afghanistan
- Foreign
- Military
- Terrorism
- Crime
- Law
- Politics
- "Padilla
Case Offers New Model of Terrorism Trial." ... "There
were two perfectly predictable schools of thought being expressed after
the conviction of Jose Padilla on Thursday on terrorism-related charges.
Supporters of the [Republican President] Bush administration said the conviction
justified the more than three years Mr. Padilla spent in military detention
before his criminal prosecution, while the administration’s opponents said
the verdict proved that the criminal justice system should have handled
the case in the first place." ... "But the real innovation in Mr. Padilla’s
case, some legal experts said yesterday, was more subtle than those dueling
talking points suggested. The Justice Department’s strategy in the trial
itself, using a seldom-tested conspiracy law and relatively thin evidence,
cemented a new prosecutorial model in terrorism cases." ... "The central
charge against Mr. Padilla was that he conspired to murder, maim and kidnap
people in a foreign country. The charge is a serious one, and it can carry
a life sentence. But prosecutors needed to prove very little by way of
concrete conduct to obtain a conviction under the law." ... "“There is
no need to show any particular violent crime,” said Robert M. Chesney,
a law professor at Wake Forest University and the author of a recent law
review article on conspiracy charges in terrorism prosecutions. “You don’t
have to specify the particular means used to carry out the crime.”" ...
"Indeed, the strongest piece of evidence in Mr. Padilla’s case was what
prosecutors said was an application form Mr. Padilla filled out to attend
a training camp run by Al Qaeda in Afghanistan in 2000." ... "“It is a
pretty big leap between a mere indication of desire to attend a camp and
a crystallized desire to kill, maim and kidnap,” said Peter S. Margulies,
a law professor at Roger Williams University who has also written on conspiracy
charges in terrorism prosecutions." ... "The conspiracy charge against
Mr. Padilla, Professor Margulies continued, “is highly amorphous, and it
basically allows someone to be found guilty for something that is one step
away from a thought crime.”" -By Adam Liptak
-NYTimes
US
- Iraq
- Afghanistan
- Military
- "Wars
squeeze police ammunition supplies across US: Shortage
curtails officers' training." ... "Troops training for and fighting the
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are firing more than 1 billion bullets a year,
contributing to ammunition shortages hitting police departments nationwide
and preventing some officers from training with the weapons they carry
on patrol." ... "An Associated Press review of dozens of police and sheriff's
departments found that many are struggling with delays of as long as a
year for handgun and rifle ammunition. And the shortages are resulting
in prices as much as double what departments were paying a year ago." ...
"Departments in all parts of the country reported delays or reductions
in training and, in at least one case, a proposal to use paint-ball guns
in firing drills as a way to conserve ammunition." ... "Forgoing proper
and repetitive weapons training comes with a price on the streets in diminished
accuracy, quickness on the draw, and basic decision-making skills, police
say." -By Estes Thompson
-AP via -BostonGlobe
US
- Iraq
- "Troop
buildup could last year, general says: A top U.S.
commander in the field declares that if the strategy is maintained, the
extra force would be home this time in 2008." ... "If the [Republican President]
Bush administration does not change strategy, the elevated U.S. troop levels
in Iraq will continue until this time next year, the second highest ranking
American commander in Iraq said Friday." ... "As the White House and Congress
gear up to renew the debate over U.S. strategy in Iraq next month, Army
Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno outlined current military plans, saying the
first of the extra "surge" forces would begin returning home in April.
The last of the units that are part of the buildup would leave next August
as the U.S. force in Iraq returns to its previous level of about 132,000."
... "The U.S. military also said a soldier was killed by a roadside bomb
Friday in east Baghdad [Iraq's capital] and that two died Thursday of noncombat
causes in Baghdad, bringing the number of American troops killed in Iraq
since March 2003 to 3,706, according to the website icasualties.org." -By
Julian E. Barnes and Carol J. Williams -LAtimes
US
- World
- 
Italy
- Iraq
- Terrorism
- Construction
- Money
- Accounting
- Politics
- "Construction
Woes Plague U.S. Embassies: Shoddy Work, Contract
Choices Cited." ... "The new air-conditioning system in the $66 million
U.S. Embassy in Mali broke down in June, sending office temperatures soaring
to 100 degrees. An electrical fire erupted in the rehabilitated annex to
the embassy in Rome [Italy's capital]. And the U.S. ambassador in Belize
had to personally help workers sand the floors for new housing." ... "As
the United States seeks to rapidly modernize and fortify its diplomatic
missions around the world because of terrorism and other security concerns,
the State Department's $5 billion construction efforts abroad have come
under increasing strain. In a series of cables sent to Washington this
summer, U.S. diplomats complained of building delays and shoddy workmanship,
underscoring problems with State's one-size-fits-all approach to building
that results in the same air-conditioning system being shipped to embassies
in Africa and in Europe." ... "Concerns have focused in particular on the
ongoing construction of the largest U.S. Embassy in the world -- the $592
million complex in Baghdad. The State Department inspector general is probing
the awarding of sole-source contracts in the sprawling project, including
whether they are unjustifiably expensive and whether top officials in State's
Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) short-circuited the process
to favor particular contractors, according to sources familiar with the
probe." ... "At the center of the controversy is the man who has run the
OBO since the start of the [Republican President] Bush administration --
Charles E. Williams, a retired major general in the Army Corps of Engineers,
who quit under fire as chief operating officer of the D.C. public schools
in 1998 when a botched roof repair project delayed the opening of District
schools by three weeks. State Department officials who have worked with
Williams assert that the serious construction problems now coming to light
flow directly from Williams's mercurial management style.-" -By
Glenn Kessler -WashingtonPost
US
- Iraq
- Internet
- Media
- Intelligence
- "Army
Reports Brass, Not Bloggers, Breach Security." ...
"For years, the military has been warning that soldiers' blogs could pose
a security threat by leaking sensitive wartime information. But a series
of online audits, conducted by the Army, suggests that official Defense
Department websites post material far more potentially harmful than anything
found on a individual's blog." ... "The audits,
performed by the Army Web Risk Assessment Cell [Wired.com
article] between January 2006 and January 2007, found at least 1,813
violations of operational security policy on 878 official military websites.
In contrast, the 10-man, Manassas, Virginia, unit discovered 28 breaches,
at most, on 594 individual blogs during the same period." ... "The findings
stand in stark contrast to Army statements about the risks that blogs pose."
... ""Some soldiers continue to post sensitive information to internet
websites and blogs," then-Army Chief of Staff Peter Schoomaker wrote in
a 2005 memo.
"Such OPSEC (operational security) violations needlessly place lives at
risk." That same year, commanders in Iraq ordered (.pdf [at
Wired.com]) troops to register their blogs "with the unit chain of
command."" -By Noah Shachtman
-Wired
US
- Iraq
- Afghanistan
- Global
- Counterterrorism
- Military
- Mental
- Health
- History
- "Army
Suicides Highest in 26 Years." ... "Army soldiers
committed suicide last year at the highest rate in 26 years, and more than
a quarter did so while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a
new military report." ... "The report, obtained by The Associated Press
ahead of its scheduled release Thursday, found there were 99 confirmed
suicides among active duty soldiers during 2006, up from 88 the previous
year and the highest number since the 102 suicides in 1991 at the time
of the Persian Gulf War." ... "The suicide rate for the Army has fluctuated
over the past 26 years, from last year's high of 17.3 per 100,000 to a
low of 9.1 per 100,000 in 2001." ... "The increases for 2006 came as Army
officials worked to set up a number of new and stronger programs for providing
mental health care to a force strained by the longer-than-expected war
in Iraq and the global counterterrorism war entering its sixth year." -By
Pauline Jelinek -AP
via -WashingtonPost
US
- Iraq
- Afghanistan
- 
Korean
- Military
- History
- "Short
of Purple Hearts, Navy tells vet to buy own." ...
"Korean War veteran Nyles Reed, 75, opened an envelope last week to learn
a Purple Heart had been approved for injuries he sustained as a Marine
on June 22, 1952." ... "But there was no medal. Just a certificate and
a form stating that the medal was "out of stock."" ... "The form letter
from the Navy Personnel Command told Reed he could wait 90 days and resubmit
an application, or buy his own medal." ... "After waiting 55 years, however,
Reed decided to pay $42 for his own Purple Heart and accompanying ribbon
— plus state sales taxes — at a military surplus store." ... "The Department
of Defense estimates that 29,098 troops have been wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan
through Thursday." -By Anne Marie Kilday
-AP via -Chron
US
- Iran
- Iraq
- Dick
Cheney
- Media
- Politics
- Intelligence
- "Cheney
urging strikes on Iran." ... "[Republican] President
Bush charged Thursday that Iran continues to arm and train insurgents who
are killing U.S. soldiers in Iraq, and he threatened action if that continues."
... "[Republican] Vice President Dick Cheney several weeks ago proposed
launching airstrikes at suspected training camps in Iran run by the Quds
force, a special unit of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, according
to two U.S. officials who are involved in Iran policy." ... "The debate
has been accompanied by a growing drumbeat of allegations about Iranian
meddling in Iraq from U.S. military officers, administration officials
and administration allies outside government and in the news media. It
isn't clear whether the media campaign is intended to build support for
limited military action against Iran, to pressure the Iranians to curb
their support for Shiite groups in Iraq or both." ... "Nor is it clear
from the evidence the administration has presented whether Iran, which
has long-standing ties to several Iraqi Shiite groups, including the Mahdi
Army of radical cleric Muqtada al Sadr and the Badr Organization, which
is allied with the U.S.-backed government of Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki,
is a major cause of the anti-American and sectarian violence in Iraq or
merely one of many. At other times, administration officials have blamed
the Sunni Muslim group al Qaida in Iraq for much of the violence." ...
"Maliki is on a three-day visit to Tehran [Iran's capital], during which
he was photographed Wednesday hand in hand with Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad." -By Warren
P. Strobel, John Walcott
and Nancy A. Youssef
-McClatchyDC.com
US
- Iraq
- Military
- Religion
- Terrorism
- Computer
- 
Entertainment
- Games
- "DOD
Stops Plan to Send Christian Video Game to Troops in Iraq."
... "Plans by a Christian group to send an evangelical video game to U.S.
troops in Iraq were abruptly halted yesterday by the Department of Defense
after ABC News inquired about the program." ... "Operation Start Up (OSU)
Tour, an evangelical entertainment troupe that actively proselytizes among
soldiers, will not be sending the "apocryphal" video game in care packages
as planned, according to the department." ... ""Left Behind: Eternal Forces"
was inspired by Tim
LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins' best-selling book series about the battle
of Armageddon, in which believers of Jesus Christ fight the Antichrist."
... "The game has inspired controversy among freedom of religion advocates
since it was released last year." ... ""It's a horrible game," said the
Rev. Timothy Simpson of the Christians Alliance for Progress. "You either
kill or covert the other side. This is exactly what the Osama bin Ladens
of the world have portrayed us."" -By Anna Schecter
-ABCNEWS.com
US
- Iraq
- Military
- 2006
Election - "Rumsfeld
resigned before election, letter shows." ... "Donald
Rumsfeld, architect of the unpopular Iraq war, resigned as [Republican
President Bush's] defense secretary before last year's November [2006]
election but his decision was not announced until after the voting, according
to his resignation letter obtained by Reuters on Wednesday." ... "The letter
was dated November 6, the day before voters, angered by Iraq, went to the
polls and swept President George W. Bush's Republicans from power in Congress.
According to a stamp on the letter, Bush saw it on election day." ... "Just
days before the election, Bush told reporters he would like Rumsfeld to
stay on for the rest of his presidency but later admitted he intentionally
misled them." -By Kristin Roberts
-Reuters via -Yahoo
Iraq
- US
- Military
- Police
- History
- Religious
- "Death
toll passes 250 in Iraq bombings." ... "The death
toll from five synchronized suicide bombings in a remote northern border
area topped 250 today, making the attack on the reclusive Yazidi religious
sect the deadliest single act of terrorism in Iraq since the U.S.-led war
began more than four years ago." ... "Rescuers, police and grieving townspeople
pulled scores of bodies from the rubble of three villages destroyed by
the Tuesday night blasts in Nineveh province, where the poor and oppressed
Yazidis have taken refuge from centuries of abuse from hostile ethnic and
religious neighbors who consider them heretics or devil worshipers" ...
"The blasts injured at least 350 others and pulverized about 400 mud-walled
homes, burying victims and body parts in a gruesome landscape of gore and
charred debris, local officials reported." ... "As the scope of the slaughter
became apparent, Zayan Othman, health minister from the neighboring Kurdistan
region, said the number killed exceeded 250 and could grow higher as the
collapsed houses and shops had probably entombed many inhabitants. The
death toll quickly surpassed the slightly more than 200 killed in November
in suicide bombings in the Sadr City area of Baghdad [Iraq's capital],
the previous high-water mark of horror to afflict the Iraqi people." -By
Carol. J. Williams with contributions by Ruaa al-Zarary, Saif Hameed, and
Wail Alhafith -LAtimes
Italy
- Iraq
- US
- 
Russia
- Secretive
- Military
- Money
- Intelligence
- Politics
- "Italy
probe unearths huge Iraq arms deal." ... "In a hidden
corner of [Italy's capital] Rome's busy Fiumicino Airport, police dug quietly
through a traveler's checked baggage, looking for smuggled drugs. What
they found instead was a catalog of weapons, a clue to something bigger."
... "Their discovery led anti-Mafia investigators down a monthslong trail
of telephone and e-mail intercepts, into the midst of a huge black-market
transaction, as Iraqi and Italian partners haggled over shipping more than
100,000 Russian-made automatic weapons into the bloodbath of Iraq." ...
"As the secretive, $40 million deal neared completion, Italian authorities
moved in, making arrests and breaking it up. But key questions remain unanswered."
... "For one thing, The Associated Press has learned that Iraqi government
officials were involved in the deal, apparently without the knowledge of
the U.S. Baghdad command — a departure from the usual pattern of U.S.-overseen
arms purchases." ... "Why these officials resorted to "black" channels
and where the weapons were headed is unclear." ... "The purchase would
merely have been the most spectacular example of how Iraq has become a
magnet for arms traffickers and a place of vanishing weapons stockpiles
and uncontrolled gun markets since the 2003 U.S. invasion and the onset
of civil war." -By Charles J. Hanley and Ariel David
-AP via -Yahoo
US
- Iraq
- Alberto
Gonzales - Military
- Prisoners
- Torture
- War
Crimes - Politics
- "Embattled
AG Gonzales visits Baghdad." ... "[Republican President
Bush's] Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, under fire at home with calls
for his resignation, is spending some time in Iraq." ... "The Justice Department
said that Gonzales arrived in Baghdad [Iraq's capital] on Saturday for
his third trip to Iraq to meet with department officials who have been
there to help fashion the country's legal system." ... "Gonzales also was
an architect of U.S. policy on the treatment of prisoners abroad and author
of a 2002 memo saying the president had the right to waive laws and treaties
that protect war prisoners." -AP
via -BostonGlobe
US
- Iraq
- Afghanistan
- 
Pakistan
- Military
- Terrorism
- Politics
- Ill
- "Rep.
Schakowsky: Petraeus hints at decade-long Iraq presence."
... "[General] Gen. David Petraeus told a congressional delegation visiting
the Middle East that success in Iraq will require a U.S. military presence
there for about a decade, [Illinois Democratic Representative] Rep. Jan
Schakowsky (D-Ill.) said Friday." ... "The commander of U.S. troops in
Iraq, who will deliver a highly anticipated progress report next month,
said the U.S. “will be in Iraq in some way for 9 or 10 years,” according
to Schakowsky. The general also highlighted progress in Anbar province,
where former Sunni insurgents have turned against Al Qaeda extremists in
recent months." ... "Schakowsky said she came away from the trip convinced
that the United States was fighting the wrong war, calling Iraq “a huge
distraction from the real war on terror” in Afghanistan and Pakistan."
... "“Because of our engagement in Iraq we can’t afford to give [fighting
al Qaeda leaders and a resurgent Taliban] the kind of attention that we
need to,” she said. “We know what the mission is there.”" -By
Patrick Fitzgerald -TheHill.com
US
- Iraq
- Afghanistan
- Military
- Politics
- People
- History
- "Iraq
war czar: Consider a draft." ... "Frequent tours
for U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan have stressed the all-volunteer
force and made it worth considering a return to a military draft, [Republican]
President Bush's new war adviser said Friday." ... ""I think it makes sense
to certainly consider it," Army Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute said in an interview
with National Public Radio's "All Things Considered."" ... ""And I can
tell you, this has always been an option on the table. But ultimately,
this is a policy matter between meeting the demands for the nation's security
by one means or another," said Lute, who is sometimes referred to as the
"Iraq war czar." It was his first interview since he was confirmed by the
Senate in June." ... "[Republican] President Nixon abolished the draft
in 1973. Restoring it, Lute said, would be a "major policy shift" and Bush
has made it clear that he doesn't think it's necessary."
-AP via -CNN
US
- Global
- Iraq
- Military
- Money
- US_Debt
- Calif
- "Bush
May Try to Cut Corporate Tax Rates: President Cites
Need To Compete Globally." ... "[Republican] President Bush said yesterday
that he is considering a fresh plan to cut tax rates for U.S. corporations
to make them more competitive around the world, an initiative that could
further inflame a battle with the Democratic Congress over spending and
taxes and help define the remainder of his tenure." ... "The focus on economic
issues on Bush's last day in Washington before leaving town today for most
of the rest of the month reflected a White House strategy to confront Democrats
on tax and spending issues." ... "Democrats quickly returned fire, noting
that Bush inherited a surplus that turned into a deficit and that he never
vetoed a spending bill during the six years that Republicans controlled
Capitol Hill, even as the budget grew by 50 percent." ... ""After six years
of reckless spending in Washington, President Bush is the last person who
should brag about fiscal responsibility," said [California Democratic Representative]
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). She accused the president of misrepresenting
Democratic spending plans, which she said come in lower than his and have
received some Republican support. And she said Bush wants "to spend $2,800
each second . . . to keep our troops in the middle of a civil war in Iraq.""
-By Peter Baker with contributions by David S. Hilzenrath
and Lori Montgomery -WashingtonPost
US
- Iraq
- Afghanistan
- Military
- Education
- Money
- History
- Virginia
- "Administration
Fights Dem Plan to Boost School Aid for Vets." ...
"The [Republican President] Bush administration opposes a Democratic effort
to restore full educational benefits for returning veterans, according
to an official's comments last week." ... "Senate Democrats, led by Virginia's
[Democratic Senator] Jim Webb, want the government to pay every penny of
veterans' educational costs, from tuition at a public university to books,
housing and a monthly stipend." ... "Such a benefit was a major feature
of the historic 1944 G.I. Bill, which put more than eight million U.S.
soldiers through college and is now credited by historians as fueling the
expansion of America's middle class in the post-war era." ... "Patrick
Campbell of the Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) endorsed
Webb's plan." -By Alexandra Bahou and Anna Schecter
-ABCNEWS.com
US
- 
Vietnam
- 
France
- Iraq
- Military
- Mitt
Romney
- Religion
- Family
- Ill
- Quad
City - Iowa
- 2008
Election - "Romney
speaks up for sons' decisions." ... "[2008 election]
Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney on Wednesday defended his five
sons' decision not to enlist in the military, saying they're showing their
support for the country by "helping me get elected."" ... "Romney, who
did not serve in Vietnam due to his Mormon missionary work [in France]
and a high draft lottery number, was asked the question by an anti-war
activist after a speech in which he called for "a surge of support" for
U.S. forces in Iraq." ... ""The good news is that we have a volunteer Army
and that's the way we're going to keep it," Romney told some 200 people
gathered in an abbey near the Mississippi River that had been converted
into a hotel. "My sons are all adults and they've made decisions about
their careers and they've chosen not to serve in the military and active
duty and I respect their decision in that regard."" ... "He added: "One
of the ways my sons are showing support for our nation is helping me get
elected because they think I'd be a great president."" ... "The woman who
asked the question, Rachel Griffiths, 41, of Milan, Ill [Illinois]., identified
herself as a member of Quad City Progressive Action for the Common Good,
as well as the sister of an Army major who had served in Iraq." ... ""Of
course not," Griffiths said when asked if she was satisfied with Romney's
answer. "He told me the way his son shows support for our military and
our nation is to buy a Winnebago and ride across Iowa and help him get
elected."" -By Glen Johnson
-AP via -Yahoo
British
- Iraq
- Iran
- US
- Military
- Political
- Oil
- Terrorism
- Intelligence
- "As
British Leave, Basra Deteriorates: Violence Rises
in [Iraq] Shiite City Once Called a Success Story." ... "As British forces
pull back from Basra in southern Iraq, Shiite militias there have escalated
a violent battle against each other for political supremacy and control
over oil resources, deepening concerns among some U.S. officials in Baghdad
[Iraq's capital] that elements of Iraq's Shiite-dominated national government
will turn on one another once U.S. troops begin to draw down." ... "Three
major Shiite political groups are locked in a bloody conflict that has
left the city in the hands of militias and criminal gangs, whose control
extends to municipal offices and neighborhood streets. The city is plagued
by "the systematic misuse of official institutions, political assassinations,
tribal vendettas, neighborhood vigilantism and enforcement of social mores,
together with the rise of criminal mafias that increasingly intermingle
with political actors," a recent report by the International Crisis Group
said." ... "After Saddam Hussein was overthrown in April 2003, British
forces took control of the region, and the cosmopolitan port city of Basra
thrived with trade, arts and universities. As recently as February, [Republican]
Vice President Cheney hailed Basra as a part of Iraq "where things are
going pretty well."" ... "But "it's hard now to paint Basra as a success
story," said a senior U.S. official in Baghdad with long experience in
the south. Instead, it has become a different model, one that U.S. officials
with experience in the region are concerned will be replicated throughout
the Iraqi Shiite homeland from Baghdad to the Persian Gulf. A recent series
of war games commissioned by the Pentagon also warned of civil war among
Shiites after a reduction in U.S. forces." ... "For the past four years,
the administration's narrative of the Iraq war has centered on al-Qaeda,
Iran and the sectarian violence they have promoted. But in the homogenous
south --where there are virtually no U.S. troops or al-Qaeda fighters,
few Sunnis, and by most accounts limited influence by Iran --Shiite militias
fight one another as well as British troops. A British strategy launched
last fall to reclaim Basra neighborhoods from violent actors -- similar
to the current U.S. strategy in Baghdad -- brought no lasting success."
... ""The British have basically been defeated in the south," a senior
U.S. intelligence official said recently in Baghdad." (1, 2)
-By Karen DeYoung and Thomas E. Ricks
-WashingtonPost
US
- Iraq
- Military
- "U.S.
Military Deaths in Iraq at 3,674." ... "As of Monday,
Aug. 6, 2007, at least 3,674 members of the U.S. military have died since
the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated
Press count. The figure includes seven military civilians. At least 3,010
died as a result of hostile action, according to the military's numbers."
-AP via -WashingtonPost
US
- Iraqi
- Military
- Money
- Accounting
- "Weapons
Given to Iraq Are Missing: GAO Estimates 30% of Arms
Are Unaccounted For." ... "The Pentagon has lost track of about 190,000
AK-47 assault rifles and pistols [110,000 AK-47s and 80,000 pistols] given
to Iraqi security forces in 2004 and 2005, according to a new government
report, raising fears that some of those weapons have fallen into the hands
of insurgents fighting U.S. forces in Iraq." ... "The author of the report
from the Government Accountability Office says U.S. military officials
do not know what happened to 30 percent of the weapons the United States
distributed to Iraqi forces from 2004 through early this year as part of
an effort to train and equip the troops." ... "The United States has spent
$19.2 billion trying to develop Iraqi security forces since 2003, the GAO
said, including at least $2.8 billion to buy and deliver equipment. But
the GAO said weapons distribution was haphazard and rushed and failed to
follow established procedures, particularly from 2004 to 2005, when security
training was led by Gen. David H. Petraeus, who now commands all U.S. forces
in Iraq." ... "One senior Pentagon official acknowledged that some of the
weapons probably are being used against U.S. forces." ... "[Center for
Defense Information senior analyst Rachel] Stohl noted that U.S. forces,
focused on a fruitless search for weapons of mass destruction after Baghdad
[Iraq's capital] fell, did not secure massive weapons caches." -By
Glenn Kessler -WashingtonPost
US
- Iraq
- 2008
Election - Opinion- Des-Moines
- Iowa
- "Iowa
Republicans Are Not Thrilled With Presidential Field."
... "As the Republican presidential candidates gather this morning in Des
Moines for their fourth debate, Iowa GOP voters are expressing limited
enthusiasm for the field of current and potential aspirants, according
to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. Their views appear to be a microcosm
of GOP sentiment across the country and point to a wide open battle for
the nomination." ... "Just 19 percent of likely GOP caucus attendees said
they were "very satisfied" with the field of candidates -- far below satisfaction
levels among Iowa Democrats -- and poll respondents were badly fractured
when asked to rate the candidates on political and personal attributes."
... "Fifty-three percent of Democrats said they are very satisfied with
the field of candidates, compared with the one-in-five likely Republican
caucus-goers who described themselves as very satisfied. While eight in
10 Republican voters said the Iraq war was worth fighting, nine in 10 Democratic
voters said it was not." ... "Half of the Democratic voters polled said
they are looking for a candidate who emphasizes fresh ideas and a new direction.
But seven in 10 Republican voters said they prize strength and experience
over new ideas in their candidate selection." (1, 2)
-By Dan Balz and Jon Cohen with contributions by Jennifer
Agiesta -WashingtonPost
US
- Iraq
- Military
- Legislation
- "Gates
Offers Blunt Assessment of Iraqi Progress." ... "Defense
Secretary Robert M. Gates said today that he was discouraged by the departure
of the major Sunni Arab bloc from Iraq’s coalition government, and noted
that the [Republican President] Bush administration may have misjudged
the difficulty of achieving reconciliation among Iraq’s sectarian factions."
... "In one of his bluntest assessments of the progress of the administration’s
Iraq strategy, Mr. Gates said: “I think the developments on political side
are somewhat discouraging at the national level. And clearly the withdrawal
of the Sunnis from the government is discouraging. My hope is that it can
all be patched back together.”" ... "When the Bush administration decided
to send the additional troops, he said, “we probably all underestimated
the depth of the mistrust, and how difficult it would be for these guys
to come together on legislation, which, let’s face it, is not some kind
of secondary issue.”" -By David S. Cloud
-NYTimes
US
- Iraq
- Military
- Terrorism
- "Violence
Rages in Iraq as Sunni Bloc Leaves Cabinet." ...
"Three bomb attacks in Baghdad today killed more than 65 people, as sectarian
and militant violence continued to rage in Iraq." ... "The Shiite-led government
that is trying to cope with the violence, meanwhile, suffered a political
setback today, when the largest Sunni Arab political bloc in the parliament
followed through on a threat to walk out of the coalition cabinet that
is trying to unify the country." ... "The Sunni Accordance Front, which
has 44 of the parliament’s 275 seats, said it was withdrawing its five
ministers from the government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki because
the prime minister has refused to respond to a list of demands, including
a greater say in security policy." ... "The immediate impact of the move
was blunted by its coming on the first day of the government’s widely criticized
summer recess, when political activity slows down considerably." -By
Jon Elsen and Stephen Farrell -NYTimes
Analysis
- US
- Iraq
- Government
- Military
- People
- Health
- Construction
- Massachusetts
- Politics
- "Analysis
says war could cost $1 trillion: Budget office sees
effect on taxpayers for decade." ... "The war in Iraq could ultimately
cost well over a trillion dollars -- at least double what has already been
spent -- including the long-term costs of replacing damaged equipment,
caring for wounded troops, and aiding the Iraqi government, according to
a new government analysis." ... "The United States has already allocated
more than $500 billion on the day-to-day combat operations of what are
now 190,000 troops and a variety of reconstruction efforts." ... "In a
report to lawmakers yesterday, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office
estimated that even under the rosiest scenario -- an immediate and substantial
reduction of troops -- American taxpayers will feel the financial consequences
of the war for at least a decade." ... "The cost of the war in Iraq and
other military operations has soared to the point where "we are now spending
on these activities more than 10 percent of all the government's annually
appropriated funds," said Robert A. Sunshine, the budget office's assistant
director for budget analysis." ... "Some leading economists have predicted
that, depending on how long troops remain in Iraq, the endeavor could reach
several trillion dollars as a result of more "hidden" costs -- including
recruiting expenses to replenish the ranks and the lifelong benefits the
government pays to veterans." ... ""It is being paid for on the national
credit card," [Democratic Massachusetts Representative James] McGovern
said. "It is being put on their backs of our kids and grandkids. That is
indefensible."" -By Bryan Bender
-Boston/Globe
US
- Iraq
- "Pentagon
Announces Iraq Troop Rotations." ... "Nearly 20,000
U.S. troops based in the United States will begin departing for Iraq in
December as part of the regular rotation of combat forces there, the Defense
Department announced Tuesday." ... ""These forces are replacement forces
for the level of effort of 15 combat brigades, which was the standing level
of effort prior to the surge," [Pentagon spokesman Bryan] Whitman said.
"They are not forces identified to replace surge forces."" ... "The surge
brought the number of combat brigades in Iraq to 20. Each combat brigade
has roughly 3,500 troops." ... "There are 159,000 U.S. forces in Iraq."
-By Richard Lardner -APvia
-WashingtonPost
US
- Iraq
- Religious
- Military
- Terrorism
- Politics
- "U.S.
officials: Militias main threat to Iraq." ... "Despite
[Republican] President Bush's recent insistence that al Qaida in Iraq is
the principal cause of this country's violence, senior American military
officers here say Shiite Muslim militias are a bigger problem, and one
that will persist even if al Qaida is defeated." ... ""The longer-term
threat to Iraq is potentially the Shiite militias," one senior military
officer said, echoing concerns that other American officials raised in
recent interviews with McClatchy Newspapers." ... "Military officers hail
the fact that violence is down as evidence that their campaign against
al Qaida in Iraq is succeeding. But there's no sign of reconciliation between
Sunni Muslims and Shiites, the rationale the Bush administration cites
for increasing the number of U.S. troops in the country." ... "The Shiite
Mahdi Army militia continues to drive Sunni residents from neighborhoods
in Baghdad [Iraq's capital], a development that one American officer called
"disappointing." Shiite politicians show little sympathy for the expelled
Sunnis or interest in stopping the expulsions. In interviews, they argued
that the drive against Sunnis is a justified response to Sunni campaigns
to drive Shiites from their neighborhoods, a position that American military
officers reject." ... "American officials say they're hopeful about the
recent decision by some Sunni insurgent groups to cooperate with U.S. troops
to defeat al Qaida in Iraq. But some of America's new Sunni allies warn
that once they've disposed of the religious extremists in their midst,
they'll return to battling rival Shiites —and American occupiers." -By
Mark
Seibel and Leila Fadel
with contributions by Mohammed al Dulaimy -McClatchyDC.com
Iraq
- Saudi
Arabia - US
- Military
- "Inspired
Iraq claims Asian Cup crown." ... "Iraq won the Asian
Cup for the first time Sunday, a beacon of hope for a nation divided by
war." ... "Iraq's 1-0 victory over Saudi Arabia on a 71st-minute header
by captain Younis Mahmoud was an inspirational triumph for a team whose
players straddle bitter and violent ethnic divides. After the game, Mahmoud
called for the United States to withdraw its troops from his nation." ...
""I want America to go out," he said. "Today, tomorrow, or the day after
tomorrow, but out. I wish the American people didn't invade Iraq and, hopefully,
it will be over soon."" -By Chris Lines
-AP via -Yahoo
US
- Iraqi
- Politics
- Police
- Money
- "U.S.
Widens Push to Use Armed Iraqi Residents: Irregulars
to Patrol Own Neighborhoods." ... "The U.S. military in Iraq is expanding
its efforts to recruit and fund armed Sunni residents as local protection
forces in order to improve security and promote reconciliation at the neighborhood
level, according to senior U.S. commanders." ... "Within the past month,
the U.S. military command in charge of day-to-day operations in Iraq ordered
subordinate units to step up creation of the local forces, authorizing
commanders to pay the fighters with U.S. emergency funds, reward payments
and other monies." ... "The initiative, which extends to all Iraqis, represents
at least a temporary departure from the established U.S. policy of building
formally trained security forces under the control of the Iraqi government.
It also provokes fears within the Shiite-led government that the new Sunni
groups will use their arms against it, commanders said." ... "The goal
is to put the new, irregular forces in place quickly --hiring them on contracts
and providing them with uniforms without waiting for access to lengthy
police and army training programs." ... "Some U.S. officers were not optimistic
that the Iraqi government would ever put the local Sunni forces on the
payroll. "Wild success is these guys being integrated into honest-to-God,
badge-holding cops. That would be a magnificent sign," said one U.S. military
officer in Baghdad. More likely, he said, the American military will "contract
them as little Iraqi Blackwaters to guard their neighborhoods," he said,
referring to a private U.S. security contractor. The worst outcome is that
the forces will be actively targeted by the Iraqi government, he said."
(1, 2)
-By Ann Scott Tyson -WashingtonPost
US
- Iraqi
- Lawmakers
- Oil
- Money
- Military
- "Iraqi
lawmakers take their time: Even with U.S. pressure
to pass key legislation, there is a distinct lack of urgency." ... "Missing
from Thursday's session of the Iraqi parliament were about half of the
members, including the speaker, the former speaker and two former prime
ministers." ... "American officials have been pressing Iraqi leaders to
prove their commitment to ending sectarian strife by enacting landmark
legislation bef