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GI SPECIAL #103
Commander-And-Thief Bush disrespects the salute at Andrews Air Force Base outside
Washington, September 5, 2003. REUTERS/Larry Downing
Command Ordered U.S.
Soldiers Shot On Sight During
Rumsfeld Visit
September 25, 2003
I just got off the phone with my son. It was great to hear his voice. It was only the
second time I have talked to him since he has been in Baghdad.
More disturbing, my son said there were sharp-shooters on the roofs of all the
buildings. I asked my son why they would need sharp-shooters on the roof if there
were no Iraqis at the Airport. He said they were for the SOLDIERS! He said they
were all warned that any one that went on a roof would be SHOT!
The airport is made up of several high rise buildings that the troops live in. My son
said several of his friends live on the upper floors of these buildings. He said they
generally go up on the roof to read or to smoke, etc. These soldiers were warned
they would be shot if they went up on the roof for any reason.
I find it shocking that the morale is so low for the troops that the upper brass don't trust
them.
In closing, my some told me that his friends appreciate our efforts. He said they
know that we are protesting against the administration and not them. They back
us completely.
In peace,
Father of a Soldier in Iraq.
Posted 27 september 2003
(For more check out http://www.bringthemhomenow.com/)
TROOP NEWS
US Soldiers in Iraq Shrug at Bush's UN
Speech;
“Nothing He Says Makes A Blind Bit Of
Difference To Us”
Reuters, September 23rd, 2003
TIKRIT, Iraq, Sept. 23 — U.S. soldiers in Iraq shrugged their shoulders after
listening to President George W. Bush's speech to the United Nations on Tuesday,
saying he said nothing new and did not address their main concern: going home.
''I wasn't particularly impressed with anything he came up with,'' said Staff
Sergeant Jason Dungan of the U.S. Army's 4th Infantry Division, based in deposed
Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit.
Bush called on the world to work together to rebuild Iraq, but soldiers were disappointed
he said nothing that offered them hope of a speedy end to their long tours of duty.
''We've been out here for six months, and it looks like we're going to be here for another
six months more,'' said one soldier as he ate dinner in a huge tented ''chow hall'' at a
U.S. base in one of Saddam's former palaces in Tikrit.
''That's it. It's a done deal, so nothing he (Bush) says makes a blind bit of
difference to us.''
The speech was broadcast on two television sets on one side of the air-
conditioned tent, but the majority of soldiers chose instead to watch American
football on the other side, or focus on their beef casserole and ice cream.
OCCUPATION ISN‟T LIBERATION
BRING ALL THE TROOPS HOME NOW!
TRUE WORDS FROM THE FRONT
LINES;
(Letters From Bring Them Home Now)
The American (Bad) Dream
September 4, 2003
As I sit here and look at the American Flag, Images of my husband come racing through
my mind. I sit and wonder, What was this for? He emails me everyday talking about the
conditions over there. He and the other soldiers refer to Iraq as "Hell". I have all my
life grown up with American Values and beliefs.
I have always, no matter what, supported my country and my president, so how can I
now, an American citizen have no faith in what we are doing or what we even stand for
anymore? My husband married me and vowed to raise my three children. He loves
them as if they were his own. I am 25, he is 21. He is the most wonderful man on this
Earth. He joined the Army to better our lives and so we could have THE GOOD LIFE,
THE AMERICAN DREAM... Now I sit here and wonder for what cost. What will the
AMERICAN DREAM cost him? Will it cost him his sanity? His health? His Life? I sit
here everyday battling: Was this worth it now?
Every time I talk to him he is on the verge of tears. That is sad because where he is is
considered one of the nicer places to be right now. He has been doing 24 hour guard
duty. 24 hours. How can a human do 24 hours, get maybe 4 hours of sleep, then go
back to 24 hours. Our president can't do one week at the White House without a week
or two vacation. Honestly, President Bush, could you do a week of 24 hour guard duty?
Imagine finally getting a chance to call and talk to your loved ones and not 2 minutes into
the phone call you lose signal. That is it too. It takes my husband 20 mins. to get a call
out to say basically I love you and that's it.
Right now we are relying on emailing one another. He gets a whole half an hour. It
takes me longer to bathe one child. I am now on anti-depressants, sleeping pills, and
through it all take care of 3 children.... CAN I AT LEAST KNOW WHY HE IS STILL
THERE? CAN I KNOW WHEN HE MAY COME BACK? CAN I KNOW ANYTHING,
MR. BUSH?
No, of course I can't, nor can he, because you still don't know why do you? The red and
white stripes in the American Flag, for me, stands for the blood of the innocent that has
been shed. The blue stands for all the nights I, and my children, have cried ourselves to
sleep and the stars stand for what little hope I have for the future of this nation. I pray
my husband comes home they same man I married. He is a loving gentle soul. I hope
your WAR didn't break that PRESIDENT BUSH....
I SAY TO YOU BRING IT ON, GIVE US SOME ANSWERS!!!!!!!! AND THEN BRING
THEM HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sincerely,
A.M.R.
(Wife of a soldier currently deployed to Iraq)
Posted 27 September 2003
“Send Bush, His Family And
Congress To Iraq”
September 22, 2003
My husband is in the army national guard and has been deployed since Feb. 13th.
We have two beautiful children, a 16 month old and a four month old. He missed our
son's first steps and our daughter's birth. He has seen her only through pictures, and
why? Because our governing officials are a bunch of liars.
My husband drives a truck over there; you know the convoys that are always getting hit
with RPG's and other explosives, well, that's what he does. His unit has been hit quite a
few times but thank God nobody has been killed. Although they have had some injuries
in their unit from explosions.
I have absolutely no faith left in our government and especially George Bush. He should
have gotten the support of the world and since everyone else was against the war, that
should have given him a hint that it was wrong. Hell no, though, he wanted to charge in
with guns a-blazing and be the big hero. Well George, you're not a hero, you are a
COWARD, our troops are the real HEROES. If you want to be a hero, Bush, bring
our soldiers home.
If he wanted a war he should have finished the job in Afghanistan. They actually
attacked us on our own soil and we still haven't taken care of it. I guess Bin Laden is too
much for Bush to handle.
I say ship George Bush and family to Iraq and send Congress with them, let them
finish the job. I mean the war is over according to Bush, so what do they have to
worry about. I pray to God that Bush does not get re-elected and lets hope our next
President can clean up his mess. God Bless our TROOPS and God Bless their families.
Jamie Sutton
(an angry soldier’s wife)
Sand Springs, Oklahoma
Posted 26 september 2003
A War For Cheney
September 22, 2003
As a reservist recently back from Iraq, I applaud your efforts. There is, frankly, not
a damn thing in that country worth one drop of American blood, let alone the lives
of hundreds of American men and women. From where I was stationed in
Baghdad, it appeared that the primary purpose of this war was to flood Halliburton
with tax dollars and bail it out of the hole Cheney created with his asbestos
acquisitions before taking his thirty-some-odd million dollar golden parachute.
As I still drill, please do not use my name if you post this.
Anonymous
Posted 25 september 2003
(FOR MORE LETTERS, GO TO
http://www.bringthemhomenow.com/)
Do you have a friend or relative in the service? Forward this E-MAIL along,
or send us the address if you wish and we‟ll send it regularly. Whether in
Iraq or stuck on a base in the USA, this is extra important for your service friend,
too often cut off from access to encouraging news of growing resistance to the
war, at home and in Iraq, and information about other social protest movements
here in the USA. Send requests to address up top. For copies on web site
see:http://www.notinourname.net/gi-special/
Under Siege In Iraq:
Panic And Alcohol Spread In The
Ranks;
“Getting Knocked Up Is A Ticket
Out Of This Shithole;”
“Get The Hell Out Of The Army”
September 28, 2003, The Winnipeg News, By SCOTT R. TAYLOR
BAGHDAD --A little Iraqi girl -- no more than eight years old -- squatted beside the road
with tears of humiliation streaming down her cheeks.
Twenty feet away, three American soldiers had their rifles aimed at her as she was
forced to relieve herself in full view of a long line of parked cars. From inside their
vehicles, the Iraqi onlookers screamed their rage at the U.S. troops.
Whenever one the Iraqis ventured to step out of his vehicle, an American officer
bellowed, "Get back in the car, a--hole!" and the .50-caliber machine gun mounted on
the U.S. Humvee would swing menacingly toward the protester.
The terrified little girl was weeping uncontrollably by the time she dropped her skirt and
ran back to her mother.
This incident took place on Sunday, Sept. 14, after a detachment of the U.S. 101st
Airborne Division set up a roadblock on the Samara-Kirkuk highway.
The purpose was to conduct a thorough weapons search of all traffic along this route.
Without enough personnel to man the roadblock, cars and trucks were soon
backed up for at least two kilometres in each direction.
To ensure that no Iraqi ventured onto the roadway, First Lieutenant Fisher and his
detachment would race up and down the queue, pointing their weapons and hurling
verbal abuse at any violator.
The little girl had been sitting in a small Mazda with six other family members for more
than three hours before she left the car. Her older brother -- no more than 10 -- had
bravely taken her by the hand and attempted to reach a small depression in the sand
which might have offered a modicum of privacy.
Lt. Fisher's Humvee had roared down the unpaved shoulder and braked to a halt in a
cloud of dust. The young boy abandoned his sister.
While Fisher and his men may have carried out their orders efficiently, their aggressive
behaviour and lack of empathy in this instance had done little to win over the "hearts and
minds" of the Iraqi people.
Two days after the incident at the Samara-Kirkuk roadblock, I was given a
personal taste of Iraqi animosity toward Americans.
I had felt the sharp jolt immediately, but only as the pain registered in my forearm
did I realize that I had been struck by a rock. I turned in time to see a young boy
throw a second stone, which narrowly missed my head. The boy then ran back to
a crowded pickup truck where his family was cheering him on.
REAL BAD PLACE TO BE: U.S. Army of the 101st Airborne Division's soldier in Mosul, north of
Baghdad Sept. 27, 2003. (AP Photo/Misha Japaridze) BRING THEM ALL HOME NOW
I had been filming the traffic backlog on the Baghdad-Mosul highway when the incident
occurred, and all along the densely packed roadway, Iraqis began honking their horns
and screaming anti-American phrases at me.
After the collapse of Saddam's regime on April 9, the remnants of the elite Republican
Guard had blown the bridges across the Tigris River, in an attempt to slow the U.S.
advance on Tikrit. Although the last of the Tikrit defences were captured in late April, to
date there are only a couple of temporary Bailey-type bridges in place to span the gap.
As a result, the volume of traffic greatly exceeds the capacity of the single-lane bridge.
Having waited several hours in the hot sun, the Iraqi drivers were only too pleased to
vent their anger on someone who appeared to be an American.
The opportune arrival of a U.S. armoured patrol thankfully prevented events from
escalating out of control.
However, as I attempted to film my rescuers, a terrified young American soldier
aimed his machine-gun at me, screaming, "Put your hands in the air -- now!"
There is good reason for the U.S. troops to be jumpy. Over the past few weeks,
ambushes have been on the increase, and American casualties are mounting steadily.
What is even more alarming is that these attacks are no longer isolated to the
volatile central Iraq region, known as the Sunni Triangle. As evidenced by the
Sept. 9 bomb blast in Irbil -- which killed three and injured 55 -- and the string of
deadly ambushes in Mosul, the terror attacks are spreading into northern Iraq.
Under such constant pressure, the American soldiers are showing signs of stress,
and unit morale has plummeted.
"We've shipped home three guys in bodybags and at least another 30 wounded
since (U.S. President George) Bush declared this thing over," said 23-year old Lt.
Tanner, of the 173rd Airborne Brigade.
"Not all of those shipped home were suffering from physical wounds. Some
simply cracked under the stress."
For the majority of U.S. military personnel now deployed in Iraq, the earliest rotation date
home will not be until next April, which means they will have served, on average, a 14-
month tour abroad. To make matters worse, with the coalition forces unable to provide a
secure environment anywhere in Iraq, the troops have been unable to enjoy any local
R&R.
"This is completely unprecedented," said Staff Sergeant Allan Spry, a 17-year
veteran with the 173rd Brigade.
"How long can they expect our guys to go without sex and alcohol?"
Although the U.S. soldiers in Iraq are under strict orders to remain "dry," one
indicator of a breakdown in unit discipline is the presence of Iraqi alcohol vendors
outside most of the American camps.
Sexual fraternization is also forbidden, but the staggering number of pregnancies among
U.S. female personnel has only worsened the Americans' manpower shortage.
"The (women) know that getting knocked up is a ticket out of this s---hole," said
Cpl. Slaughter.
"We started out with 10 women (at the U.S. compound in Taji) and already three of them
have gone home pregnant. Everyone knows that the lieutenant is pregnant but she just
hasn't told the commanding officer yet. So, that's 40% of our women knocked up in less
than five months."
In an effort to reduce the demand on U.S. military resources, the Americans have
relinquished control of the Central Iraq region to the Multi-National Division (MND).
Comprised of troops from 21 countries, the 8,300 soldiers of the MND resemble a
modern-day Tower of Babel.
Although Poland and Spain are the major contributors, many of the MND units are
comprised of personnel from non-NATO countries such as Mongolia, Philippines,
Bulgaria and Kazakhstan.
Language is not the only operational obstacle facing the MND. There is a tremendous
disparity in the equipment used by the various contingents, including the necessity to
supply some troops with non-standardized ammunition calibers. Many contributing
forces arrived in Iraq with virtually no equipment whatsoever.
"As a result of the Salvadoran, Nicaraguan, Honduran and Dominican Republic troops
requiring vehicles, weapons, protective clothing and training upon arrival, their
operational deployment had to be delayed," explained Col. Cabeza.
The United States is covering all incremental costs and providing the requisite
equipment to all nations contributing troops.
In addition to the deployment of foreign troops in Iraq, the U.S. interim authority has also
contracted a number of corporate security firms to assist coalition troops in protecting
strategic resources.
To protect their own personnel, Kellog, Brown and Root -- the major U.S. corporate
contractor for Iraq's reconstruction -- have hired their own local armed guards. Dressed
in civilian clothing and carrying Kalashnikov assault rifles, the KBR security staff patrol
the compounds around the Baghdad hotels which house U.S. executives.
The problem is that nobody is quite clear as to what jurisdiction or authority these "rent-
a-gun" agencies are entitled.
"If my men see an Iraqi carrying a weapon, they'll not wait to find out whose side he's
on," said an Australian captain, who requested anonymity. "They'll shoot first, and
identify the remains later."
"When you've got Iraqis in civilian clothes and driving civilian cars ... you can't blame (the
82nd Airborne) for greasing those guys, even if they turned out to be policemen," said
Sgt. Kostens, a section commander with the 1st Armoured (Old Ironsides) Division.
Kostens was hit by two grenade fragments during an ambush in late May.
"Our guys are not about to start taking any chances. We are planning to survive the tour,
get home safe and get the hell out of the army," Kostens concluded.
"And God help any Iraqis who get in the way of that plan."
“What Is My Mission Here”?
(Parts of PRESENTATION BY MILITARY FAMILIES SPEAK OUT AT THE
CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING ON IRAQ SEPTEMBER 9, 2003)
1.)
“This War Is A Failure”
Presentation by Myriam Velez, Aunt of a Soldier Serving in Iraq (from Cooper City, FL)
My name is Myriam Velez, my husband's nephew is in Iraq.
I have met with many Latino mothers and other relatives of soldiers from the South
Florida area, they are extremely worried about the situation in Iraq, and in such a state of
desperation, that one of the mothers, whose only son is in Iraq, is considering going on a
hunger strike.
Many of these mothers and families initially believed the reasons given by President
Bush to send their love ones to war, and were ready to face the painful sacrifice that was
being asked of them in order to prove that they were as patriotic as any Anglo-American.
However, things have changed; these mothers are beginning to ask questions.
These are their concerns:
1. Now that is very clear and well documented that the President used lies and twisted
intelligence to send our love ones to war, Why are they still in Iraq? Where are the
WMD?
2. Based on the information we have received, this war is a failure!, this war is lost!
Our soldiers are victims, as well as the Iraqi people. A mother from Broward county,
Florida who lost her only son last week stated: "They are being killed as flies" and
questions: " How many more mothers have to experience my pain before our
government faces the truth?"
3. These mothers are also looking at the future: If their sons come back home sick,
mentally ill, disabled. Who is going to pay for their care? Considering the present state of
the economy and the predicted national deficit of about $470 billion, What is going to
happen to the veterans of this war and their families?
4. Many mothers have told me in private that they are afraid of expressing their
opinions about this war and the government, and even afraid of asking questions.
They have been told in not uncertain terms that speaking out will be detrimental to
the well being of their sons, and they will suffer terrible adverse consequences in
the hands of our own government. Should they be afraid?
I also have learned that many soldiers presently in Iraq, in American uniform, are
not American citizens, and in some cases, they may even be illegal aliens, who
will be considered unfit to work in McDonalds, and subject to deportation if they
do so. However, they are considered fit to die in our name.
Finally, the message from South Florida's Lucia, Maria, Janie, Estella, Celeste,
Patricia, Miladys and many more who did not want their names to be mentioned:
BRING THEM HOME NOW!
2.)
“What Is My Mission Here?”
Presentation by Candance Robison, Wife of an Army Reservist Serving in Iraq (from
Krum, Texas)
I received a call from CBS News at 7:45 this morning asking me how I felt about
Reservists and National Guard tours being extended to a year. "What?" I screamed as I
jumped out of bed. Yes, I was informed, the policy was issued by the Department of the
Army late Friday evening and was never announced. NOT EVEN WHEN THE
PRESIDENT ADDRESSED THE NATION SUNDAY EVENING. Thanks again President
Bush and Department of the Army for showing soldiers and their families exactly how
much our sacrifice means to you. I salute your efforts to take care of our troops.
In his Sunday address, the president shared part of a note from the "front lines of
freedom".
Today I would like to share another note with you-a note from an Army Reservists
at the "front lines of freedom".
“Can America stomach the loss of young soldiers for the next five years here in
Iraq? I've got better things to do, and I speak for my fellow soldiers when I ask,
„what is my mission here‟ besides adding to the required 150,000 troops stationed
in theater?
I spend most of my days reading, sleeping, washing clothes and writing letters. Mission
is to keep the troop number elevated to some magic number agreed upon by the
boys at the Pentagon. Truth be told, a large portion of that number is sitting in
Kuwait. Safe, mind you, but accomplishing even less than I and the others here in
Iraq."
He continues by saying:
"Twelve attacks a day...one death a day... and the Army in their infinite wisdom
blames who else: the American soldier."
"Has anyone asked themselves why more soldiers are dead „after‟ the war than
during the war? Does anyone in Washington or the Pentagon care?"
He finishes by saying:
"Everyone can sit back and say how much they care about a soldier being killed
or how awful it is that a soldier was wounded, but who's going to do something
about it?"
What do you think? Comments from service men and
women, and veterans, are especially welcome. Send to
the E-mail address up top. Name, I.D., withheld on
request. Replies confidential.
The Death Lists
A Grandfather Of Seven Dies And Middle America
Mourns
September 28, 2003, The Sun-Herald
The worst day of George Bush's presidency was not September 11, 2001, when
four hijacked jetliners crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a
Pennsylvania meadow. Indeed, in a perverse way, it was the day Mr Bush at least
appeared to evolve as a leader.
The worst day was, arguably, July 9, 2003, when a 54-year-old grandfather died in
an ambush in Iraq.
Sergeant Roger Dale Rowe was serving with the Tennessee Army National Guard,
driving tanker fuel trucks across the desert, when he was hit by a sniper.
He left behind a widow, four children, seven grandchildren and a cute yellow and
white house. He also left behind an increasingly grieving nation.
Sergeant Rowe was the oldest of the 306 American soldiers to die in Iraq and one of the
167 killed since the war officially ended on May 1.
The reputedly gentle Vietnam veteran also personified the problem Bush faces
back home - that workaday soldiers, who are not even in combat, are being picked
off in a messy occupation of someone else's country. The White House fiddles,
trying to restructure Iraq's oil-rich economy so that it will suit American
investment, while troops die.
It is victims such as Sergeant Rowe, who took time off from his job making car parts to
volunteer for reserve duty in the Middle East, who are turning public sentiment against
the Bush White House.
Sergeant Rowe received a posthumous Purple Heart for his Iraq service. That he was a
doting grandparent helped stir anti-war sentiment, but Americans are now facing an
even more sobering statistic, one that is fuelling the public change of heart on the war.
Most of the combat troops serving - and dying - in Iraq are in their 20s. Unlike
Sergeant Rowe, their lives are not yet lived.
The overwhelming majority of the dead are enlisted soldiers - privates, corporals,
sergeants, warrant officers.
The median age of the casualties is 25 but many as young as 18 and 19 appear in
the death lists.
The Hidden War Comes To “Middle
America;”
(A Story The Big Newslines Didn‟t Consider Worth
Reporting)
_____________________________
Oshkosh (Wisc.) Soldier Hurt In Iraq
Olson Recovering From Shrapnel Wound
By Doug Zellmer, of The Northwestern
A 24-year-old Oshkosh soldier is on the mend after being wounded during a patrol in
Iraq.
Sgt. Nate Olson received a non-life-threatening shrapnel injury to his right bicep when an
explosive detonated and severely damaged the military vehicle he was in.
Olson is the first soldier from Oshkosh injured in the war and related activities.
Olson‟s wife, Carla, said she got a phone call from the Army that her husband had
been wounded Tuesday in Baghdad.
“It was an extremely terrifying phone call that I received.” Carla said. “It‟s never a
phone call a wife wants to get.”
She said her husband called an hour later and said he was OK.
“I was overwhelmed with relief and happiness,” she said. “I told him all I want for him
is to be home as quickly as possible.”
“They are going to watch his recovery and how he heals,” Carla said. “He won‟t be back
on patrol until he is completely healed.”
Three other Wisconsin guardsmen were injured Tuesday in a similar but separate
incident while they were on a foot patrol in Baghdad, according to the Wisconsin
National Guard.
Habeck said the sheriff‟s department is sending Olson a poster-size „Get Well‟ card
signed by staff.
(For more, see the article “Cannon Fodder For Bush‟s War” at
www.socialistworker.org.)
Vietnam Vet Warns Leave Can Kill
By WILEY HALL, AP, 09/26/03
LINTHICUM, Md. (Sept. 26) - The first U.S. troops to get a two-week vacation from their
work in Iraq landed on the East Coast early Friday and were looking forward to seeing
their families, eating home-cooked food and getting some sleep.
Bob Muller, president of the Vietnam Veterans of American Foundation, took an opposite
view, saying he recalls that there was a disproportionate number of casualties among
those back from leave in Vietnam compared to the rest of the troops.
"To get yanked out of that is such a trip in your own head ... it makes it really hard to
come back in," he said. "It was sort of like you broke stride ...you're distracted."
Still, he said, he would never say he was against giving leaves.
"My memory of my R&R experience is very vivid," said Muller, who served in the war in
the late 1960s with the Marines. "The night before departure was just raucous,
exuberant, everybody was pumped. A week later, coming back, nobody said a word
- and I mean it was absolute stone silence."
IRAQ WAR REPORTS:
Four US Soldiers Wounded In
Separate Mine Attacks In Iraq
28-Sep-2003, Agence France-Presse
BAGHDAD, Sept 28 (AFP) - Four US soldiers were wounded Sunday in two separate
bomb attacks in Iraq, a military spokesman said.
Sergeant Mark Ingham said an attack with an "improvised explosive device" (IED)
occurred about 11:00 am (0700 GMT) in the town of Iskandariya, 45 kilometers (nearly
30 miles) south of the capital.
The assault occurred on a usually peaceful stretch of road linking Baghdad with
the Muslim Shiite holy city of Karbala. No other details were available.
The two wounded servicemen were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. Their
conditions were not immediately known.
Ingham said another two soldiers were wounded at Taji, 10 kilometers (six miles) north
of Baghdad, by an IED explosion at 9:45 am (0545 GMT) and were evacuated to the
28th Combat Support Hospital for treatment.
In the Tikrit area, US troops came under fire twice early Wednesday but suffered no
casualties, according to Major Josslyn Aberle, a spokeswoman for the 4th Infantry
Division.
FORWARD OBSERVATIONS
Iraqis Don‟t Like Hussein OR Bush;
(Welcome To The Club)
Financial Times, Reuters, September 25, 2003
A Gallup opinion poll released on Wednesday showed that most of Baghdad's
citizens were happy to see Saddam ousted, although only 29 percent of them see
Bush positively.
OCCUPATION REPORT
Fear and Loathing In Baghdad
The Times (London), September 27, 2003, By Richard Lloyd Parry
Things are getting worse in Baghdad, and it may be some time before they improve.
You get used to explosions, and to the sight and sound of guns being fired on the street.
You can even become accustomed, after a fashion, to the sight of blood and brains. If
you work for the coalition, sealed off behind helixes of razor wire in requisitioned palaces
and hotels, it is easier than ever to ignore such events. But, even by its own lights, the
coalition is in a terrible mess.
The coalition itself acts as if things are getting worse; regular visitors who were
once allowed out in Baghdad are now required to spend all their time within the
wire-and-tank-guarded security zones.
Most important of all, the coalition's own Iraqi leaders are close to despair.
Yesterday, they buried their colleague, Dr Aqila al-Hashemi, who was assassinated as
she drove to her office a week ago. Her death has shaken and enraged the governing
council and driven it to a series of harsh, repressive and futile measures.
Last week, it voted to ban from its press conferences two Arabic satellite television
stations, including al-Jazeera, for "inciting violence" (its original decision, to expel the
channels from Iraq, was watered down after "consultations" with the coalition). Senior
members of the council are pressing for their introduction of the death penalty,
which was suspended just after the war.
But can anyone seriously believe that hindering the work of a few journalists will
have the slightest effect on the numbers of attacks? What precisely is the
deterrent effect of death by hanging on men who openly brag of their wish to die
for their cause? The proposals are absurd, a blundering confusion of symptoms
with causes, demonstrating only the helplessness and desperation of those who
hold power.
The helplessness takes another, more destructive form: the increasing trigger-happiness
of US troops in the most dangerous parts of the country. During a month in Iraq, the only
people to have pointed guns at me have been US soldiers. In Khaldiyah, watching a
retreating US convoy, I found myself staring down the gun barrel of an Abrams tank; the
gunner rotated his turret to keep it trained upon me and a group of street urchins as he
trundled forward.
The coalition complains that journalists are looking only for bad news; the truth is
that we do not tell the half of it.
US Kills Three More Civilians In Fallujah;
Dead Supported The Occupation
Patrick Graham in Falujah. September 28, 2003, The Observer
Standing by the grave of his dead brother, Sheikh Abed Asalam Jamil says he is happy
and calls for a jihad against the US Army.
'Everyone in Iraq is a mujahid,' says the imam, whose brother, Zamal Jamil al-
Juleimi, was killed on Friday night as he returned from a doctor's appointment
with his family. 'The people of this country will raise the flag of jihad.'
Zamal was shot dead, along with his wife and her mother, Beijah. Their son, Haider, who
was sitting in the back of the pick-up, lies wounded in the hospital in Falujah, 30 miles
west of Baghdad, in the heart of the Sunni triangle.
Falujah is not the kind of place where they understand the concept of friendly fire.
The conservative, tribal society views outsiders with suspicion even when they come
unarmed. Here, police openly sympathise with the resistance to the US
occupation.
Chanting "America is the enemy of God" and vowing revenge, angry residents flocked to
a nearby hospital where Reuters television footage showed four corpses and several
wounded, including a young girl.
According to members of the resistance, the city spawned the first armed groups last
April that now organise almost daily attacks on the convoys of foreign troops. The
nervous troops, in return, respond with overwhelming firepower.
'We're taught to shoot back with everything we've got,' said a former member of the
82nd, now working for a private security firm in Baghdad.
The Sunni triangle is now overwhelmingly hostile to the Americans. Last week a
sign appeared on a former Saddam monument telling drivers to stay well back
from US convoys which 'could be attacked at any time - this is your last warning'.
Ironically, Zamal was exactly the kind of Iraqi the Americans hoped to win over. As
manager of the local grain silo, his salary had increased under the new regime.
Colleagues explained that Zamal and other educated men and women supported
US efforts.
This makes his death all the more bitter and, for his family, incomprehensible.
Iraqi Capitalists Slap Down Puppet
Finance Minister;
Foreigners Can‟t Buy 100% Of
Everything But Oil After All
The Daily Star (Lebanon), September 25, 2003
In the midst of an upsurge in violence, Iraq's Governing Council dropped a
bombshell of its own Wednesday, backing off from a pledge by its finance
minister to allow 100 percent foreign ownership in most economic sectors, saying
his comments were not "official."
A statement issued by the US-installed council distanced it from a key part of a
sweeping economic package presented by interim Finance Minister Kamel
al-Kilani at the International Monetary Fund meeting in Dubai on Sunday.
The text said only the council president could announce policy, "and the
statements attributed to the (finance) minister about the law of investment cannot
be considered official."
The minister's announcement that Iraq would be open to 100-percent foreign
ownership in all sectors except oil had sparked criticism in Iraqi business circles.
ONLY 90 DAYS AGO:
1.)
"Don't talk to me about Saddam Hussein," snapped Ibrahim Aullaiwi, a 46-year-old shop
owner in the poor neighborhood of New Baghdad. "The Americans are in charge of
everything here. They could have brought generators in here within 24 hours."
An article on the front page of Al Haqiqa, one of several Shiite newspapers,
reported that "unemployment and the chaos of security are the root causes of
Iraqis clashing with Americans."
And in a separate front-page headline, the newspaper quoted a prominent Shiite
leader as saying, "No Dialogue with the Occupier."
Edmund Andrews, New York Times, June 28, 2003
2.)
Two Missing US Soldiers Found Killed
Chris Tomlinson, AP / New York Times, June 28, 2003
Baghdad, Iraq (AP) - Two U.S. soldiers missing for days from a checkpost north of the
capital have been found dead, a senior U.S. army officer said.
The soldiers and their Humvee went missing Wednesday from the town of Balad, 25
miles north of Baghdad. The officer, who declined to give his name, said their bodies
have been found. He gave no further details.
DANGER: POLITICIANS AT WORK
Bush Hits New Low, In Polls That Is
The Times (London), September 26, 2003
Mr Bush slipped in the opinion polls yesterday when his approval rating dropped to 49
per cent, the lowest of his presidency, according to the Wall Street Journal/NBC findings.
IN POLICY SHIFT, U.S. PUTS IRAQ ON eBAY;
No Takers in First 24 Hours
The Borowitz Report, 9.28.03
In what was seen as a marked shift in American foreign policy, on Sunday the U.S. put
the entire nation of Iraq up for sale on the Internet auction site eBay.
The decision to list the Middle Eastern nation on the popular auction site surprised many
at the United Nations, where just days ago President George W. Bush had made an
impassioned plea for troops and money to help rebuild the war-torn country.
BUSH CRIME FAMILY MEETING at Camp David Saturday, September 27, 2003. (AP
Photo/Kevin Wolf)
But Mr. Bush hinted at the policy shift in his national radio address Saturday, saying,
"We are not occupiers nor liberators: we are highly motivated sellers."
French President Jacques Chirac was the first to notice the listing of Iraq on eBay
Sunday morning, when the French leader logged on in search of some rare Edith Piaf
recordings.
While surfing the auction site, Mr. Chirac noticed the listing for the oil-rich nation, with an
asking price of $87 billion and a seller identified only as RUMMY55.
Jake Braswell, 39, a video store clerk who regularly visits eBay in search of memorabilia
from the '70's television series "Battlestar Gallactica," said he had no intention of putting
in a bid for Iraq, adding that he thought the listing itself was "misleading."
"No way is Iraq in 'mint condition,'" Mr. Braswell said.
As of late last night, U.S. officials were still holding out hope that someone, possibly
erstwhile media mogul Edgar Bronfman Jr., might be tempted to make a bid for Iraq, but
their mood was growing increasingly pessimistic.
"In retrospect, asking for $87 billion might have been a mistake," one official conceded.
AFGHANISTAN: THE FORGOTTEN WAR
"Most Evil Place In Afghanistan" Under
Fresh Rocket Attack;
Colonel Babbles Bullshit
24-Sep-2003, Agence France-Presse
KABUL, Sept 24 (AFP) - Suspected Taliban fighters fired 10 rockets at two US
military bases near Afghanistan's insurgency-hit eastern border with Pakistan, a
US military spokesman said Wednesday.
Eight of the rockets landed near the base at Shkin in Paktika province and two landed
near a base in northeast Kunar province late Tuesday but neither caused any casualties.
"Shkin, we call it the most evil place in Afghanistan. We have lost more soldiers in
Shkin than any other place in Afghanistan," Colonel Rodney Davis told reporters
in Kabul.
Paktika's Shkin base, some 280 kilometres (175 miles) southeast of Kabul, is regularly
targeted by suspected Taliban fighters alleged to be regrouping over the border in
Pakistan.
"Maybe most of the house is cleaned but sometimes you have to sweep the
corners," Davis said of the re-emergence of the hardline militia, two years after their
ouster by US-led forces. A US-led coalition of 12,500 troops is still hunting remnant
Taliban and their al-Qaeda allies in Afghanistan. (Isn‟t Rodney just chock full of total
mindlessly cheery ass-kissing bullshit? Gee, he must be a Colonel.)
"Right now we are sweeping the corners," the colonel said Wednesday.
Afghan officials say resurgent Taliban forces have controlled the border district of
Barmal since seizing it last month in a bloody assault.
They have also claimed control of four other districts in Paktika and neighbouring
Zabul province. (Hey Davis, the square footage to be swept appears to have
augmented considerably. What if the resistance thinks you’re what‟s getting
swept?)
Taliban fighters, whom Afghan troops say are armed with new technology
including night-vision gear and satellite telephones, have been blamed for spiraling
attacks on US and Afghan troops, aid workers and Afghan officials.
The upswing in violence has forced the suspension of aid works across huge swathes of
southeast Afghanistan, undermining the occupation by US and Allied forces.
Afghan officials charge the hardline militia are finding sympathy and regrouping over the
border in Pakistan's mountainous tribal districts.
The Pashtun tribes on both sides of the border share the Taliban's ethnicity and their
fury at the perceived sidelining of Pashtuns from the new administration in Kabul.
Resistance Orders General Offensive
Against U.S. Occupation
By Saeed Ali Achakzai, September 25, 2003, Reuters
Taliban commanders secretly met elusive leader Mullah Mohammad Omar last week
and vowed to step up attacks on Afghan Government and US-led allied troops, a
commander said yesterday.
Taliban guerrilla commander Mullah Sabir, alias Mullah Momin, told Reuters by
telephone from an undisclosed location that Mullah Omar appeared "delighted" by
a recent spate of Taliban attacks.
At the meeting on September 17, held somewhere in southern Afghanistan, Mullah
Omar urged around 50 top military commanders and former governors not to slow
their activities, Mullah Momin said.
"I salute my Taliban mujahideen (holy warrior) brothers and the Afghan people. They
have courageously carried out their jihadi (holy war) responsibilities for the last two years
to defend Islam," Mullah Omar was quoted as saying.
"All the Taliban commanders should carry out the duties entrusted to them as a personal
responsibility," he said.
Mullah Momin said he had started spreading Mullah Omar's message to other
Taliban commanders who were not at the meeting, saying they had agreed to
"accelerate" attacks.
US Troops Attacked In Southeast
Afghanistan
Hi Pakistan, September 28, 2003
BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan: Militants attacked a convoy of US-led troops with a
bomb and small-arms fire while they were on patrol overnight in insurgency-hit southeast
Afghanistan, a US military spokesman said Saturday.
Colonel Rodney Davis said there were no casualties on either side from the clash near
Gardez in Paktia province some 60 miles south of Kabul.
They fired small arms at the coalition patrol and detonated an improvised explosive
device, Davis told reporters at the US-led military coalition's Bagram Air Base
headquarters north of Kabul. He said the militants retreated as coalition soldiers returned
fire.
Davis did not say who the attackers were.
Seven Soldiers Killed In Resistance Ambush
Ananova (Britain), Associated Press, September 28, 2003
A pickup truck carrying seven Afghan government troops has been ambushed by
suspected Taliban insurgents in southern Afghanistan.
All the soldiers were killed according to an official.
The attack happened in the Mir Mundo area of the southern Helmand province about 50
miles north west of Kandahar.
No arrests have been made and nobody has claimed responsibility. Security forces later
found a car which was apparently abandoned by the attackers.
Huge Explosion Destroys Bridge On Kabul-Kandahar
Highway
Eastday.com (China), September 28, 2003
A huge explosion occurred on the Kabul-Kandahar highway at about 9:00 a.m. local time
Saturday in Wardak province, some 30 kilometers southwest of Kabul, provincial
security commander Abdul Amid Drani told Xinhua over phone call.
"The huge explosion occurred at Syed Abad district of Wardak province on a bridge
where the reconstruction of the Kabul- Kandahar highway is going on," said the
commander. "Fortunately, no one was killed or wounded in the incident."
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