A weekend of peace + democracy US style in Iraq

by Paul - . Mon Feb 20, 2006 16:04

Hi,

This is the sort of article I enjoy from Indy media. Just a short comment

"Resistance fighters kill puppet army commander who took part in battle against al-Fallujah"

I think the usage of the word "puppet army commander" should be explained a little more. Does that mean that all Iraqi army personnel are puppets. My understanding is that many of the Irqi army are members of different Militias including the Badr, Medhi, and permersga (sorry about spelling). None of these militias would be seen as puppets of America, rather puppets of their sectarian origins.

I would guess the man who was killed was a Kurd, as I thought they were the only trustable militia (at the time, by the Americans of course) involved in Fallujah.

It would also be helpful if one is quoting from a news source one could state that the source is a sunni, or even a salafist news-source

More such articles please.

Paul

by MichaelY - iawm Mon Feb 20, 2006 16:47

Delighted you 'enjoyed' the article.

As for your question regarding 'puppets'...the specific commander took part in the 2nd battle of Fellujah along with the crusading troops. He ordered his troops to encircle and attack his countrymen/women and children. He was 'in command' when the US occupation forces rained phosphorus on the inhabitants, burning them to cinder. His race/DNA/religious or even gender-based origins are, one presumes for most those killed, by and from either side btw, irrelevant. History of struggles and war, including our own wars here in the 32 counties, relate to those type of uniformed butchers/people as collaborators, quislings, spies, murderers or worse....a puppet is a rather sensitive term methinks.
It is interesting though that you chose to highlight that one aspect of the article, rather than the scores of people, from all sides, killed, murdered, butchered, bombed - call it whatever your sensibilities could stand, over the last few days. As a result of the US machine, and our collaboration through the use of the Shannon warport exporting democracy to the killing fields.
And, again, the religious characteristics of those reporting the facts are irrelevant. Lets say they're Muslims.

And please Paul excuse my emotional language. I am very very angry...I am sure you understand what anger is....especially if confronted with puppets.

by Topper Mon Feb 20, 2006 16:58

Calm down Michael, calm down. He didn't say your use of the word "puppet" was necessarily wrong, he said that you should explain it more. The man you were referring to may well have been a puppet of the occupation forces in the literal sense of the term. If he took an active part in the sack of Falluja, then the term would be fair enough. And I didn't detect any lack of concern regarding the deaths of Iraqi civilians.

by Sinéad Ní Bhroin Mon Feb 20, 2006 18:37 sineadnibhroin at eircom dot net

"Administration's Tin Ear on the Middle East is Making America Less Safe"
Opening Statement of Senator Barbara Boxer Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearing February 15, 2006

Madam Secretary, the President said during his State of the Union address that we are winning in Iraq and he is confident in his plan for victory. Unfortunately, the American people don't share this confidence.

A recent NBC/Wall Street Journal poll conducted January 26th through the 29th shows that a majority of Americans -- 52 percent -- believe the President has failed to give good reasons why the U.S. must keep troops in Iraq. Similarly, 53 percent of Americans are less confident that Iraq will come to a successful conclusion.

They don't share this confidence because they see what is happening on the ground. They see brave men like ABC's Bob Woodruff and his cameraman seriously injured while trying to record on, quote, "the good news coming out of Iraq," unquote. They see Jill Carroll of the Christian Science Monitor, a young woman who went to Iraq to tell the story of the Iraqi people, kidnapped and begging for her life -- and we pray for her safe return. And, of course, the deaths and the injuries keep climbing -- up to 19,000 Americans either dead or wounded.

This Administration's rosy scenarios like the Vice President's statement that the insurgency was in the last throes, your statement in '05 that the insurgency has been dealt several blows, just don't match realities on the ground.

The number of attacks against coalition troops, Iraqi security forces and civilians increased by 29 percent last year. Let me give you specifics: Insurgents launched 34,000 plus attacks in 2005, an increase of 8,000 from 2004. Last year, the number of car bombs more than doubled from 420 to 873. The number of suicide car bombs went from 133 to 411. 67 attackers wore suicide vests last year, up from seven in 2004. Roadside bombs increased from 5,000-plus to 10,000-plus. Last week, a chart appeared in the New York Times depicting the extent of casualties just in one month. And I just want you to see this, because sometimes we don't recognize what's going on there. More than 800 people were killed as a result of the insurgency.
And what do the Iraqi people think of all this: 64 percent of Iraqis believe that crime and violent attacks will decrease when the United States redeploys out of Iraq. Perhaps more important, 73 percent of Iraqis believe there will be greater cooperation among Iraq's political factions when the United States redeploys.

So I say to you, if we're in Iraq to help the Iraqi people, then we ought to start listening to the Iraqi people and start a redeployment.

Now success in Iraq also depends greatly on the ability of our forces to better secure Iraq's oil infrastructure. Paul Wolfowitz told Congress in 2003, "We're dealing with a country that can finance its own reconstruction with oil, and relatively soon." That was another rosy scenario. The reality is Iraq's oil production has dropped from pre-war levels. And I want to show you a headline from the New York Times a little more than a week ago: "Oil graft fuels the insurgency." The Iraqi finance minister has estimated that insurgents receive 40 percent to 50 percent of all oil smuggling profits in the country. So not only is the oil not financing the reconstruction, it is financing the insurgency that is killing American troops.

Our main reason for going to Iraq was to get rid of the WMDs, or, as you said, not to wait for the smoking gun to become the mushroom cloud. That was a farce. And the truth is coming out. The CIA intelligence officer in charge of the Middle East intelligence from 2000 to 2005 wrote, quote, "Intelligence was misused publicly to justify decisions already made."
Our standing in the world is low according to the Pew Research Center, and the American people know it. Two-thirds of Americans say there is less international respect for the U.S. than in the past. And when asked why, a strong majority, seven in 10 Americans, cite the war in Iraq. The war in Iraq is bringing our standing down in the world. American people are smart.
Now you have cited elections in the Middle East as a sign that, "The neighborhood is changing." But is the neighborhood changing for the better?

It doesn't appear so. You have admitted to being blindsided by the Hamas victory -- saying, "I've asked why nobody saw it coming. It does say something about us not having a good pulse." And I do appreciate your candor there. But this has become a pattern. This Administration was shocked by Hamas, shocked by the election of the Iranian leader, shocked that Iraqis voted for conservative religious parties with ties to Iran instead of secular candidates like Ahmed Chalabi, whose party got not one single vote in the Iraqi parliament. I remember when he sat behind the First Lady in 2004 at the State of the Union address. This Administration seems to have a tin ear when it comes to the Middle East, and that tin ear is making us less safe.

by Panzraam Mon Feb 20, 2006 22:25

Great to see the American “puppeteers” and their “puppets” being killed, even if they are people with families they deserve it. The innocent people of Faluja, who only wanted peace were killed without warning in the huge surprise attack launched by the Americans. Tens of thousands of innocent people were killed including over 5,000 children. Those responsible deserve everything they get.

by Enthused Tue Feb 21, 2006 08:57

Ah... More dead Americans!!!!!! Won't be long now until the queues of people from Europe, Asis, Central and South America et al lining up to live in America dry up! Who would want to live in such a country????????? All American troops Out OF EUROPE!!!! ( Especially the dead ones !!!)

by MichaelY - iawm Tue Feb 21, 2006 12:59

And the war goes on....

Al-Anbar Province - Ar-Rutbah.

Resistance shoots down US helicopter over northeastern ar-Rutbah Sunday night.

In a bulletin posted at 11pm Mecca time Sunday night, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that Iraqi Resistance forces had shot down a US helicopter over the city of ar-Rutbah in western Iraq near the Jordanian border. Many residents of ar-Rutbah saw the aircraft plunging to earth in flames.
Resistance bomb on old road near Saudi border reportedly kills four US troops Sunday evening.
In a bulletin posted at 8:20pm Mecca time Sunday night, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that a short while earlier eyewitnesses from 'Ar'ar near the border with Saudi Arabia in western Iraq said that an Iraqi Resistance bomb had exploded by a US Marine patrol there. The explosion destroyed a US Humvee, killing four American troops aboard. Witnesses said that US forces deployed around the area after the attack and used mechanical robots to search for other explosives. Meanwhile a US Apache helicopter gun ship evacuated the dead from the scene.

Four US troops reported killed in Resistance bombing in ar-Ramadi.

In a dispatch posted at 12:40pm Mecca time Sunday afternoon, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that an Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded by a US military column on the main road in the al-Mu'allimin neighborhood in the middle of ar-Ramadi completely destroying one US Humvee, killing four American troops who were aboard it. The witnesses said they had seen the vehicle on fire with four charred bodies of US troops inside.

Al-Fallujah.

In a dispatch posted at 11:50pm Mecca time Sunday night, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that Iraqi Resistance forces fired two Katyusha rockets into houses occupied by US and Iraqi troops in the village of 'Amiriyat al-Fallujah, southwest of the city of al-Fallujah at about 6pm local time Sunday evening. Earlier in the day, at about 11am Sunday morning US occupation forces found and detonated an explosives-laden car that had been parked by the side of a road in 'Amiriyat al-Fallujah. At around the same time Iraqi Resistance fighters armed with machine gunshad attacked the US occupation headquarters buildings in 'Amiriyat al-Fallujah. US troops responded by firing randomly, killing one passerby.
In a dispatch posted at 5:20pm Mecca time Sunday afternoon, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that an Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded by a police patrol on the main road in al-Fallujah, some 60km west of Baghd. Eyewitnesses said that the bomb disabled one of the patrol vehicles, wounding four policemen.
In a dispatch posted at 10:15am Mecca time Sunday morning, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that an Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded by an Iraqi army patrol on the main road near the southern entrance to al-Fallujah on Saturday night. The blast completely destroyed one of the vehicles in the patrol, killing six Iraqi troops.

Abu Ghurayb - Resistance bomb near Abu Ghurayb leaves two US troops reported dead.

In a dispatch posted at 10:30am Mecca time Sunday morning, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that an Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded by a US military column on a farm road northwest of Abu Ghurayb, some 30km west of Baghdad. The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported eyewitnesses in Abu –Ghurayb as saying that a bomb planted by the side of the road exploded by a passing US column, destroying a Humvee and killing two US soldiers and wounding two more.
Baghdad.

Attacks on occupied Iraq’s oil industry resulted in loss of US$6.25 billion in year 2005, ministry spokesman says.

Specialists in the "Iraqi Petroleum Ministry" in occupied Baghdad have estimated that the country’s oil installations registered a total loss of more than US$6 billion in the year 2005 as a result of what it called "sabotage operations" and the death of at least 150 of oil industry personnel. An official spokesman of the "Iraqi Petroleum Ministry," 'Asim Jihad said in a press statement reported by Quds Press that "experts in the Ministry of Petroleum have estimated losses from oil installations last year at US$6.25 billion, as a result of 186 sabotage operations."
Resistance fires rockets into US "Green Zone" headquarters area.
In a dispatch posted at 5:40pm Mecca time Sunday afternoon, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that Iraqi Resistance forces two medium-range rockets into the area around the Republican Palace in Baghdad – the heavily guarded area that the US calls the "Green Zone" – Sunday afternoon. The Baghdad correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported a source in the Iraqi police as saying that two Resistance rockets blasted into the "Green Zone" at 4:30pm local time Sunday afternoon. The source said that one of the rockets struck the eastern part of the "Green Zone," while the other slammed into the southern side of the "Zone." No information on the nature or extent of casualties was available.

Resistance attacks joint US-Iraqi army base in ad-Durah.

In a dispatch posted at 5:30pm Mecca time Sunday afternoon, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that Iraqi Resistance forces fired a mortar barrage into the joint US-Iraqi army camp in the area of the southern Baghdad suburb of ad-Durah.

Resistance attacks US fuel convoy in Baghdad’s western al-'Amiriyah district.

In a dispatch posted at 10:50am Mecca time Sunday morning, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that Iraqi Resistance fighters ambushed a convoy of tankers hauling fuel to US military bases on the al-'Amal ash-Sha'bi Road in the al-'Amiriyah area of western Baghdad, ,completely burning one truck and wounding two US troops.

Salah ad-Din Province - Tikrit.

In a dispatch posted at 4:10pm Mecca time Sunday afternoon, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that an Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded by a patrol of the"Iraqi National Guard" on the main road north of Tikrit. The local correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported residents of the al-'Askari neighborhood as saying that the bomb destroyed one patrol vehicle, wounding three "National Guards," one of them severely.

At-Tuz - Resistance bomb blasts police patrol.

In a dispatch posted at 4pm Mecca time Sunday afternoon, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that an Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded by an Iraqi police patrol on the main road south of the city of at-Tuz. The bomb disabled one patrol vehicle, wounding four policemen, one of them severely.

Ad-Dulu'iyah.

In a dispatch posted at 3:30pm Mecca time Sunday afternoon, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that Iraqi Resistance fighters armed with machine guns ambushed a contractor working for the US occupation forces on the main road linking ad-Dulu'iyah with Yathrib, north of Baghdad. The man, Sabah Hamid, on the road to Yathrib, was killed instantly.

Ad-Dujayl.

In a dispatch posted at 3:20pm Mecca time Sunday afternoon, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that Iraqi Resistance fighters armed with light and medium weapons ambushed a convoy of trucks loaded with building materials for US bases on the main road in the an-Naba'i area west of ad-Dujayl, located north of Baghdad. The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported a source in the Iraqi police as saying that Resistance fighters attacked the truck convoy on the road that leads to the sand and gravel quarry in the an-Naba'i area. The Resistance fighters set nine of the loaded trucks on fire, killing four drivers working for the US occupation and wounding three more.

Samarra.

In a dispatch posted at 11am Mecca time Sunday morning, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that an Iraqi Resistance marksman shot and killed a US soldier in Samarra’, 120km north of Baghdad on Saturday evening. The American soldier was on observation duty atop a building that the US forces have seized, located near Samarra’ Hospital.

Diyala Province- 'Qubah.

In a dispatch posted at 10:40am Mecca time Sunday morning, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that Iraqi Resistance forces fired two medium-range Grad rockets into Sa'd Airport near Ba'qubah, some 65km northeast of Baghdad – a facility the US has taken over and turned into a base of theirs.The two rockets blasted into the interior of the US-occupied airport.

At-Ta’mim Province.- Kirkuk.

In a dispatch posted at 12:55pm Mecca time Sunday afternoon, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that an Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded by the motorcade of the Operations Director of the Kirkuk police, Brigadier General Hatim Khalaf - one of he top officers on the force. The attack occurred on the road linking the centre of Kirkuk with the city of al-Hawijah to the southwest.The a bomb went off as the motorcade drove past. The explosion killed General Hatim Khalaf and destroyed the car in which he was riding. Also killed were two of his bodyguards. Two other policemen were wounded in the attack.

Sources:
http://www.qudspress.com/data/aspx/d43/17383.aspx
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=100448
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=100447
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=100440
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=100427
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=100422
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=100409
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=100408
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=100407
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=100400
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=100398
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=100394
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=100393
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=100380
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=100379
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=100369
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=100368
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=100367
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=100366
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=100362
http://www.islammemo.cc/news/one_news.asp?IDNews=100363

by Yanar Tue Feb 21, 2006 13:43

Women's Call for Peace: An Urgent Appeal

We, the women of the United States, Iraq and women worldwide, have had enough of the senseless war in Iraq and the cruel attacks on civilians around the world. We've buried too many of our loved ones. We've seen too many lives crippled forever by physical and mental wounds. We've watched in horror as our precious resources are poured into war while our families' basic needs of food, shelter, education and healthcare go unmet. We've had enough of living in constant fear of violence and seeing the growing cancer of hatred and intolerance seep into our homes and communities.

This is not the world we want for ourselves or our children. With fire in our bellies and love in our hearts, we women are rising up - across borders - to unite and demand an end to the bloodshed and the destruction.

We have seen how the foreign occupation of Iraq has fueled an armed movement against it, perpetuating an endless cycle of violence. We are convinced that it is time to shift from a military model to a conflict-resolution model that includes the following elements:

- The withdrawal of all foreign troops and foreign fighters from Iraq;
- Negotiations to reincorporate disenfranchised Iraqis into all aspects of Iraqi society;
- The full representation of women in the peacemaking process and a commitment to women's full equality in the post-war Iraq;
- A commitment to discard plans for any foreign bases in Iraq;
- Iraqi control of its oil and other resources;
- The nullification of privatization and deregulation laws imposed under occupation, allowing Iraqis to shape the trajectory of the post-war economy;
- A massive reconstruction effort that prioritizes Iraqi contractors, and draws upon financial resources of the countries responsible for the invasion and occupation of Iraq;
- Consideration of a temporary international peacekeeping force that is truly multilateral and is not composed of any troops from countries that participated in the occupation.

To move this peace process forward, we are creating a massive movement of women - crossing generations, races, ethnicities, religions, borders and political persuasions. Together, we will pressure our governments, the United Nations, the Arab League, Nobel Peace Prize winners, religious leaders and others in the international community to step forward to help negotiate a political settlement. And in this era of divisive fundamentalisms, we call upon world leaders to join us in spreading the fundamental values of love for the human family and for our precious planet.

by Paul - . Tue Feb 21, 2006 18:27

Well Michael,

If you believe I am a war mongering bushite who wants to see all those in fallugah butchered, from a reasonably innocuous comment ,you have a serious problem with any criticism.

All such responses seem to be, attack is the best form of defense. If that is what you believe in, why do you write for indymedia which seems to be all about encouraging alternative and trustable sources of information, that is not skewed through a perspective that power is the sole reserve of the rich and those who have guns.

All the best,
Paul