Humanitarian crisis: Displaced in Diyala
DIYALA, Iraq (UWIRE) – “The militias are not allowing us to return to our homes,” said Karima Abas Kuydayer. She is one of an estimated 4.2 million Iraqis displaced around the world. According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center, this figure includes 2.4 million persons displaced inside Iraq. The center tracks conflict-induced internal displacement worldwide.
During the last 24 months, sectarian and generalized violence have replaced military operations as the primary causes of recent population displacement within postwar Iraq.
Read On
Thursday, July 31, 2008
US troops killed three Iraqi civilians: military
Wed Jul 30, 2:15 PM ET
SAMARRA, Iraq (AFP) - US soldiers killed three unarmed Iraqi civilians, including a woman, near the central city of Samarra, the American military said Wednesday.
The incident which is under official investigation occurred early Wednesday as US troops carried out what the military described as operations targeting Al-Qaeda in the central zone of the war-ravaged country.
It said that US soldiers moving towards a building had observed four "suspicious" individuals and had perceived "hostile" intent after being fired upon.
"The force engaged them, killing two men and a woman, and wounding another woman. A third man who was detained on site admitted to working with explosives," the US statement said.
But Nusayf Jassim, a resident on Samarra, 125 kilometres (80 miles) north of Baghdad, told AFP that US soldiers had raided his home in search of insurgents and in the ensuing gunfire his mother and two brothers were killed.
"The US forces burst into our home at 2.00 am and opened fire in all directions, Jassim told AFP at his home on the edge of the city.
"They killed my 50-year-old-mother and two of my brothers, aged 21 and 26," he said.
US troops also wounded two of Jassim's sisters prior to detaining his 23-year-old brother, he said.
Jassim added that the raiding US soldiers had told him that "terrorists" were living at his home.
The US military said no weapons were found.
source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080730/wl_mideast_afp/iraqunrestusmilitarycivilians
SAMARRA, Iraq (AFP) - US soldiers killed three unarmed Iraqi civilians, including a woman, near the central city of Samarra, the American military said Wednesday.
The incident which is under official investigation occurred early Wednesday as US troops carried out what the military described as operations targeting Al-Qaeda in the central zone of the war-ravaged country.
It said that US soldiers moving towards a building had observed four "suspicious" individuals and had perceived "hostile" intent after being fired upon.
"The force engaged them, killing two men and a woman, and wounding another woman. A third man who was detained on site admitted to working with explosives," the US statement said.
But Nusayf Jassim, a resident on Samarra, 125 kilometres (80 miles) north of Baghdad, told AFP that US soldiers had raided his home in search of insurgents and in the ensuing gunfire his mother and two brothers were killed.
"The US forces burst into our home at 2.00 am and opened fire in all directions, Jassim told AFP at his home on the edge of the city.
"They killed my 50-year-old-mother and two of my brothers, aged 21 and 26," he said.
US troops also wounded two of Jassim's sisters prior to detaining his 23-year-old brother, he said.
Jassim added that the raiding US soldiers had told him that "terrorists" were living at his home.
The US military said no weapons were found.
source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080730/wl_mideast_afp/iraqunrestusmilitarycivilians
Two Iraqi Officials Assassinated In Separate Attacks In Mosul
IRBIL, July 30 (KUNA) -- An Iraqi Judge in Mosul and a member of the Islamic Party in Iraq were assassinated in two separate armed attacks in northern part of the country, Iraqi police said on Wednesday.
A police source told KUNA unknown armed men fired at a vehicle carrying Judge Mohammad Khalaf Al-Sabeel who was on his way to court from home in Al-Sadiq area in northern Mosul.
The source added unknown gunmen also killed a member of the Islamic Party headed by Iraqi Vice President Tareq Al-Hashemi.
Meanwhile, a military force unit fired and killed two gunmen who were planting explosives in eastern Mosul, the source noted. (end) sbr.mb KUNA 302113 Jul 08NNNN
source: http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=1928360&Language=en
A police source told KUNA unknown armed men fired at a vehicle carrying Judge Mohammad Khalaf Al-Sabeel who was on his way to court from home in Al-Sadiq area in northern Mosul.
The source added unknown gunmen also killed a member of the Islamic Party headed by Iraqi Vice President Tareq Al-Hashemi.
Meanwhile, a military force unit fired and killed two gunmen who were planting explosives in eastern Mosul, the source noted. (end) sbr.mb KUNA 302113 Jul 08NNNN
source: http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=1928360&Language=en
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Hold Bush Administration Accountable For Crimes Against The People
From Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH):
URGENT: need your help - Impeachment Petition Deadline Midnight Wednesday
Dear Friends,
Because of your vigilance and support for democracy, last Friday was a day of singular importance in Washington. The House Judiciary Committee met to discuss the Bush Administration's abuse of executive power and for the first time the case for Impeachment was discussed in front of a Congressional committee, in depth, at length and with authority.
Twenty members of the Judiciary Committee attended the six hour hearing, during which twelve witnesses, including myself and four members of Congress testified. In this hearing I called for the Impeachment of the President for misrepresenting a case for war.
This week I will present members of Congress with Impeachment petitions submitted by those of you who have signed the on-line impeachment form.
I need your help. In the next few days we must redouble our efforts to get more signatures on the online petition at kucinich.us. I'm asking each of you to please contact at least ten of your friends to go to www.Kucinich.us now and sign the Impeachment petition that will be delivered by me. Wednesday night is the deadline.
Please send out an email to all your friends and family, post this link, http://kucinich.us to your blogs and make this effort count as this is the only petition that I will deliver.
Thank you so very much.
[Dennis Kucinich]
URGENT: need your help - Impeachment Petition Deadline Midnight Wednesday
Dear Friends,
Because of your vigilance and support for democracy, last Friday was a day of singular importance in Washington. The House Judiciary Committee met to discuss the Bush Administration's abuse of executive power and for the first time the case for Impeachment was discussed in front of a Congressional committee, in depth, at length and with authority.
Twenty members of the Judiciary Committee attended the six hour hearing, during which twelve witnesses, including myself and four members of Congress testified. In this hearing I called for the Impeachment of the President for misrepresenting a case for war.
This week I will present members of Congress with Impeachment petitions submitted by those of you who have signed the on-line impeachment form.
I need your help. In the next few days we must redouble our efforts to get more signatures on the online petition at kucinich.us. I'm asking each of you to please contact at least ten of your friends to go to www.Kucinich.us now and sign the Impeachment petition that will be delivered by me. Wednesday night is the deadline.
Please send out an email to all your friends and family, post this link, http://kucinich.us to your blogs and make this effort count as this is the only petition that I will deliver.
Thank you so very much.
[Dennis Kucinich]
What It's Like To Be An Iraqi Refugee From Iraqi Refugees' Perspectives
snip
“I do my best to get through each day and keep what is left of my family together,” says “H” of his current situation as a refugee in Amman, Jordan, “my boys are my life, my love.” H and his two sons live in an apartment without refrigerator, or cooker. His wife died 4 years ago from blood poisoning. He now does everything for his two sons, including protecting them by not telling his story. He is too scared. Scared of his fellow Iraqi refugees, scared of the Kurds who he says now run the Iraqi Embassy in Jordan, scared of the UNHCR because they ask him questions he will not answer, scared of the Iraqi government, scared because he converted to Christianity, scared of the Americans, scared of his and his sons.
“H” wants to live in peace, no more killing, no more death, no more army.
What “H” did tell me is that Saddam Hussein is his father, the father of Iraq, the number 1 President for all Arabs. “He was the one who kept Iraq together, he was fair, everyone was equal, Shia, Sunni, Muslim, Christian, Kurd it didn’t matter as long as you swore fidelity to Saddam, he would protect you and your family. Now look at the government, they are run by Shia and Kurds and they don’t stop the killing, they want the killing,” was all H would tell me.
He also said he came to Jordan in 2003 before the Iraq War started.
read more here: http://hiddeninplainsightexhibition.blogspot.com/2008/07/trust-is-issue.html
“I do my best to get through each day and keep what is left of my family together,” says “H” of his current situation as a refugee in Amman, Jordan, “my boys are my life, my love.” H and his two sons live in an apartment without refrigerator, or cooker. His wife died 4 years ago from blood poisoning. He now does everything for his two sons, including protecting them by not telling his story. He is too scared. Scared of his fellow Iraqi refugees, scared of the Kurds who he says now run the Iraqi Embassy in Jordan, scared of the UNHCR because they ask him questions he will not answer, scared of the Iraqi government, scared because he converted to Christianity, scared of the Americans, scared of his and his sons.
“H” wants to live in peace, no more killing, no more death, no more army.
What “H” did tell me is that Saddam Hussein is his father, the father of Iraq, the number 1 President for all Arabs. “He was the one who kept Iraq together, he was fair, everyone was equal, Shia, Sunni, Muslim, Christian, Kurd it didn’t matter as long as you swore fidelity to Saddam, he would protect you and your family. Now look at the government, they are run by Shia and Kurds and they don’t stop the killing, they want the killing,” was all H would tell me.
He also said he came to Jordan in 2003 before the Iraq War started.
read more here: http://hiddeninplainsightexhibition.blogspot.com/2008/07/trust-is-issue.html
Monday, July 28, 2008
Throwing Stones
Picture a bright blue ball, just spinning, spinnin free,
Dizzy with eternity.
Paint it with a skin of sky,
Brush in some clouds and sea,
Call it home for you and me.
A peaceful place or so it looks from space,
A closer look reveals the human race.
Full of hope, full of grace
Is the human face,
But afraid we may lay our home to waste.
There's a fear down here we can't forget.
Hasn't got a name just yet.
Always awake, always around,
Singing ashes, ashes, all fall down.
Ashes, ashes, all fall down.
Now watch as the ball revolves
And the nighttime falls.
Again the hunt begins,
Again the bloodwind calls.
By and by, the morning sun will rise,
But the darkness never goes
From some men's eyes.
It strolls the sidewalks and it rolls the streets,
Staking turf, dividing up meat.
Nightmare spook, piece of heat,
It's you and me.
You and me.
Click flash blade in ghetto night,
Rudies looking for a fight.
Rat cat alley, roll them bones.
Need that cash to feed that jones.
And the politicians throwin' stones,
Singing ashes, ashes, all fall down.
Ashes, ashes, all fall down.
Commissars and pin-stripe bosses
Roll the dice.
Any way they fall,
Guess who gets to pay the price.
Money green or proletarian gray,
Selling guns 'stead of food today.
So the kids they dance
And shake their bones,
And the politicians throwin' stones,
Singing ashes, ashes, all fall down.
Ashes, ashes, all fall down.
Heartless powers try to tell us
What to think.
If the spirit's sleeping, Then the flesh is ink
History's page will thus be carved in stone.
And we are here, and we are on our own
On our own.
On our own.
On our own.
If the game is lost,
Then we're all the same.
No one left to place or take the blame.
We can leave this place and empty stone
Or that shinin' ball we used to call our home.
So the kids they dance
And shake their bones,
And the politicians throwin' stones,
Singing ashes, ashes, all fall down.
Ashes, ashes, all fall down.
Shipping powders back and forth
Singing black goes south and white comes north.
In a whole world full of petty wars
Singing I got mine and you got yours.
And the current fashion sets the pace,
Lose your step, fall out of grace.
And the radical, he rant and rage,
Singing someone's got to turn the page.
And the rich man in his summer home,
Singing just leave well enough alone.
But his pants are down, his cover's blown...
And the politicians throwin' stones,
So the kids they dance
And shake their bones,
And it's all too clear we're on our own.
Singing ashes, ashes, all fall down.
Ashes, ashes, all fall down.
Picture a bright blue ball,
Just spinnin', spinnin, free.
Dizzy with the possibilities.
Ashes, ashes, all fall down.
Ashes, ashes, all fall down.
Ashes, ashes, all fall down.
Ashes, ashes, all fall down.
Ashes, ashes, all fall down.
Dizzy with eternity.
Paint it with a skin of sky,
Brush in some clouds and sea,
Call it home for you and me.
A peaceful place or so it looks from space,
A closer look reveals the human race.
Full of hope, full of grace
Is the human face,
But afraid we may lay our home to waste.
There's a fear down here we can't forget.
Hasn't got a name just yet.
Always awake, always around,
Singing ashes, ashes, all fall down.
Ashes, ashes, all fall down.
Now watch as the ball revolves
And the nighttime falls.
Again the hunt begins,
Again the bloodwind calls.
By and by, the morning sun will rise,
But the darkness never goes
From some men's eyes.
It strolls the sidewalks and it rolls the streets,
Staking turf, dividing up meat.
Nightmare spook, piece of heat,
It's you and me.
You and me.
Click flash blade in ghetto night,
Rudies looking for a fight.
Rat cat alley, roll them bones.
Need that cash to feed that jones.
And the politicians throwin' stones,
Singing ashes, ashes, all fall down.
Ashes, ashes, all fall down.
Commissars and pin-stripe bosses
Roll the dice.
Any way they fall,
Guess who gets to pay the price.
Money green or proletarian gray,
Selling guns 'stead of food today.
So the kids they dance
And shake their bones,
And the politicians throwin' stones,
Singing ashes, ashes, all fall down.
Ashes, ashes, all fall down.
Heartless powers try to tell us
What to think.
If the spirit's sleeping, Then the flesh is ink
History's page will thus be carved in stone.
And we are here, and we are on our own
On our own.
On our own.
On our own.
If the game is lost,
Then we're all the same.
No one left to place or take the blame.
We can leave this place and empty stone
Or that shinin' ball we used to call our home.
So the kids they dance
And shake their bones,
And the politicians throwin' stones,
Singing ashes, ashes, all fall down.
Ashes, ashes, all fall down.
Shipping powders back and forth
Singing black goes south and white comes north.
In a whole world full of petty wars
Singing I got mine and you got yours.
And the current fashion sets the pace,
Lose your step, fall out of grace.
And the radical, he rant and rage,
Singing someone's got to turn the page.
And the rich man in his summer home,
Singing just leave well enough alone.
But his pants are down, his cover's blown...
And the politicians throwin' stones,
So the kids they dance
And shake their bones,
And it's all too clear we're on our own.
Singing ashes, ashes, all fall down.
Ashes, ashes, all fall down.
Picture a bright blue ball,
Just spinnin', spinnin, free.
Dizzy with the possibilities.
Ashes, ashes, all fall down.
Ashes, ashes, all fall down.
Ashes, ashes, all fall down.
Ashes, ashes, all fall down.
Ashes, ashes, all fall down.
What It's Like In Occupied Iraq From An Iraqi Woman's Perspective
An Arab Woman Blues
There are subjects I find ways to avoid or not dwell on for too long...I don't think am a terribly courageous woman for doing so. But then, these subjects are so painful for me that if tackled, leave me totally depleted, enraged like some animal gone wild in a metal cage, or terribly hopeless...Hopelessness not to be understood as in "I want to kill myself now" kind of hopelessness, but a hopelessness that is best translated as loss of Faith.
Again loss of faith not in a strictly religious/metaphysical sense, but loss of Faith in the broadest of terms...Can be summed up as loss of Faith in humanity, in human kind.
Not to be underestimated at all. Dark stuff is made of a lost humanity. The darkest moments of an Occupation...These darkest moments can be found everywhere in Iraq.
In the smelly rotten prisons. In the torture wounds of the detainees. In the snatched childhoods. Under the rubbles of a bombed home. In the morgue underneath the putrid stench of Death. In the wails at the overfilled cemeteries. In the destroyed ancient statues and a weeping History. In a river that stood still. And in a lone Palm tree thirsty for some water...But above all, these darkest moments are found in the silence of Women. The women who have been silenced and the women who fear it. The women who witnessed it and the women who dare not break it...
Read On
There are subjects I find ways to avoid or not dwell on for too long...I don't think am a terribly courageous woman for doing so. But then, these subjects are so painful for me that if tackled, leave me totally depleted, enraged like some animal gone wild in a metal cage, or terribly hopeless...Hopelessness not to be understood as in "I want to kill myself now" kind of hopelessness, but a hopelessness that is best translated as loss of Faith.
Again loss of faith not in a strictly religious/metaphysical sense, but loss of Faith in the broadest of terms...Can be summed up as loss of Faith in humanity, in human kind.
Not to be underestimated at all. Dark stuff is made of a lost humanity. The darkest moments of an Occupation...These darkest moments can be found everywhere in Iraq.
In the smelly rotten prisons. In the torture wounds of the detainees. In the snatched childhoods. Under the rubbles of a bombed home. In the morgue underneath the putrid stench of Death. In the wails at the overfilled cemeteries. In the destroyed ancient statues and a weeping History. In a river that stood still. And in a lone Palm tree thirsty for some water...But above all, these darkest moments are found in the silence of Women. The women who have been silenced and the women who fear it. The women who witnessed it and the women who dare not break it...
Read On
Examining The True Cost Of War
"We're Going to Be Paying For This For a While": Soldiers Bring the War Home
By Jill Carroll, Christian Science Monitor. Posted July 16, 2008.
When veterans of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan bring their troubles home, police and judges often are the first to deal with them.
During 21 years in the Marine Corps, Jeff Johnson saw young adults walk into his recruiting office and newly minted marines walk out of boot camp just a few months later. Now working at the other end of that pipeline at the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs, he sees far different, troubling changes in those coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan.
"The changes were dramatic. I'd never seen these kinds of changes in people," says Mr. Johnson of those wrestling with the mental and physical trauma of war. Read On
By Jill Carroll, Christian Science Monitor. Posted July 16, 2008.
When veterans of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan bring their troubles home, police and judges often are the first to deal with them.
During 21 years in the Marine Corps, Jeff Johnson saw young adults walk into his recruiting office and newly minted marines walk out of boot camp just a few months later. Now working at the other end of that pipeline at the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs, he sees far different, troubling changes in those coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan.
"The changes were dramatic. I'd never seen these kinds of changes in people," says Mr. Johnson of those wrestling with the mental and physical trauma of war. Read On
U.S. forces attack and kill innocent Iraqis then lie about it
U.S. military says soldiers fired on civilians
By Richard A. Oppel Jr.
Published: July 28, 2008
BAGHDAD: The U.S. military has admitted that a platoon of soldiers raked a car of innocent Iraqi civilians with hundreds of rounds of gunfire and that the military then issued a news release larded with misstatements, asserting that the victims were criminals who had fired on the troops.
The attack on June 25 killed three people, a man and two women, as they drove to work at a bank at Baghdad International Airport. The attack infuriated Iraqi officials and even prompted the Iraqi armed forces general command to call the shooting a cold-blooded murder.
It also bolstered calls from Iraqi politicians to pressure the U.S. military to leave Iraq after this year, when a UN mandate expires, unless the United States agrees to permit its soldiers to be subject to criminal prosecution under Iraqi law for attacks on civilians. Read On
By Richard A. Oppel Jr.
Published: July 28, 2008
BAGHDAD: The U.S. military has admitted that a platoon of soldiers raked a car of innocent Iraqi civilians with hundreds of rounds of gunfire and that the military then issued a news release larded with misstatements, asserting that the victims were criminals who had fired on the troops.
The attack on June 25 killed three people, a man and two women, as they drove to work at a bank at Baghdad International Airport. The attack infuriated Iraqi officials and even prompted the Iraqi armed forces general command to call the shooting a cold-blooded murder.
It also bolstered calls from Iraqi politicians to pressure the U.S. military to leave Iraq after this year, when a UN mandate expires, unless the United States agrees to permit its soldiers to be subject to criminal prosecution under Iraqi law for attacks on civilians. Read On
NATO Military Forces Feel Threatened By Un-Armed Afghan Children and Open Fire
2 Afghan kids dead after Canadian troops fire at vehicle
Kandahar incident came after vehicle driver refused commands to stay away
Canwest News ServicePublished: Monday, July 28, 2008
Canadian troops in Afghanistan opened fire on a civilian vehicle Monday, killing two children and injuring an adult, NATO said.
The children - a male and a female, which some media reports suggest were siblings - were killed after the car's driver failed to respond to numerous warnings to stay clear of a NATO convoy patrolling the area in the country's Kandahar province. One adult male was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
In a statement, NATO said the vehicle failed to comply to hand, arm and audio warnings to keep sufficient distance from the convoy. When the vehicle was about 10 metres away from the patrol, and still heading towards the convoy, the soldiers opened fire, fearing an attack.
"Our soldiers are trained to take the appropriate steps to minimize civilian casualties," said the NATO statement. "However, they must take action to protect themselves when threatened. Tragic incidents such as this are avoidable if the public comply with the instructions of those who are endeavouring to provide a safe environment."
Canada currently has about 2,500 troops stationed in Afghanistan in the NATO-led mission.
Kandahar incident came after vehicle driver refused commands to stay away
Canwest News ServicePublished: Monday, July 28, 2008
Canadian troops in Afghanistan opened fire on a civilian vehicle Monday, killing two children and injuring an adult, NATO said.
The children - a male and a female, which some media reports suggest were siblings - were killed after the car's driver failed to respond to numerous warnings to stay clear of a NATO convoy patrolling the area in the country's Kandahar province. One adult male was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
In a statement, NATO said the vehicle failed to comply to hand, arm and audio warnings to keep sufficient distance from the convoy. When the vehicle was about 10 metres away from the patrol, and still heading towards the convoy, the soldiers opened fire, fearing an attack.
"Our soldiers are trained to take the appropriate steps to minimize civilian casualties," said the NATO statement. "However, they must take action to protect themselves when threatened. Tragic incidents such as this are avoidable if the public comply with the instructions of those who are endeavouring to provide a safe environment."
Canada currently has about 2,500 troops stationed in Afghanistan in the NATO-led mission.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
The Plight Of Iraq's Refugees
Christopher Hayes
Thu Jul 24, 2:56 PM ET
The Nation -- Conservatives had a tendency to attribute the all of the reduction of violence in Iraq to the increase in US troops. But one of the most overlooked stories of Iraq is the massive outflow of refugees, 4 million by the latest estimates. Basically Iraq has gone through its own Big Sort, whereby Sunni and Shia simply don't live near each other, hence a diminishing amount of sectarian violence. Bobby Allyn attended a hearing on Iraq's refugees and sent this missive:
The Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs held a hearing on the Iraq Refugee Crisis yesterday. Jonathan Finer, Washington Post correspondent, testified with former Washington Post interpreter Nasser Nouri about the plight of over two million Iraqi refugees who are struggling for permanent resettlement.
According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, over 4.7 million Iraqis have been displaced since the 2003 US invasion, with more than two million living in Syria and Jordan. The US has committed to accept 12,000 refugees by September. So far the US has only accepted 6,463, allowing three months for another 5,537. "The question isn't will the US meet the 12,000 mark; it's why only 12,000?" said Finer. "We took in several hundred thousand Southeast Asians after the Vietnam war, more than a hundred thousand Bosnians in the mid '90s, 12,000 doesn't seem like a very ambitious target."
Nasser Nouri told the harrowing story of how Al Qeada tried to capture his youngest daughter after word got out that he worked for The Washington Post, highlighting the dangers faced by Iraqi journalists who work for US news outlets. "In Iraq you don't tell people you work for the United States because your life then could be in danger," Nouri said. Finer told of how Nouri acted more than just an interpreter, helping him avoid death in many circumstances. "No journalism would come out of Iraqi if it weren't for the Iraqi staff," he said. "Their importance is only gonna grow. We're gonna be more reliant on people like Nasser."
The numbers here, really are outrageous. We've taken a total of 5,537 refugees out of 4 million from a war that a war we started. Syria alone is now home to more than a million. With a population of 16 million, that's a 6% increase. The equivalent number in the US would be 18 million. Can you imagine the political turmoil that ensue here if 18 million foreign refugees were to flood into the country over a period of just a few years?
Thu Jul 24, 2:56 PM ET
The Nation -- Conservatives had a tendency to attribute the all of the reduction of violence in Iraq to the increase in US troops. But one of the most overlooked stories of Iraq is the massive outflow of refugees, 4 million by the latest estimates. Basically Iraq has gone through its own Big Sort, whereby Sunni and Shia simply don't live near each other, hence a diminishing amount of sectarian violence. Bobby Allyn attended a hearing on Iraq's refugees and sent this missive:
The Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs held a hearing on the Iraq Refugee Crisis yesterday. Jonathan Finer, Washington Post correspondent, testified with former Washington Post interpreter Nasser Nouri about the plight of over two million Iraqi refugees who are struggling for permanent resettlement.
According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, over 4.7 million Iraqis have been displaced since the 2003 US invasion, with more than two million living in Syria and Jordan. The US has committed to accept 12,000 refugees by September. So far the US has only accepted 6,463, allowing three months for another 5,537. "The question isn't will the US meet the 12,000 mark; it's why only 12,000?" said Finer. "We took in several hundred thousand Southeast Asians after the Vietnam war, more than a hundred thousand Bosnians in the mid '90s, 12,000 doesn't seem like a very ambitious target."
Nasser Nouri told the harrowing story of how Al Qeada tried to capture his youngest daughter after word got out that he worked for The Washington Post, highlighting the dangers faced by Iraqi journalists who work for US news outlets. "In Iraq you don't tell people you work for the United States because your life then could be in danger," Nouri said. Finer told of how Nouri acted more than just an interpreter, helping him avoid death in many circumstances. "No journalism would come out of Iraqi if it weren't for the Iraqi staff," he said. "Their importance is only gonna grow. We're gonna be more reliant on people like Nasser."
The numbers here, really are outrageous. We've taken a total of 5,537 refugees out of 4 million from a war that a war we started. Syria alone is now home to more than a million. With a population of 16 million, that's a 6% increase. The equivalent number in the US would be 18 million. Can you imagine the political turmoil that ensue here if 18 million foreign refugees were to flood into the country over a period of just a few years?
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
U.S. Terrorizing Iraqis in Fallujah, Again
IRAQ: Fallujah Braces for Another Assault
By Ali al-Fadhily and Dahr Jamail*
FALLUJAH, Jul 21 (IPS) - U.S. and Iraqi forces are preparing another siege of Fallujah under the pretext of combating "terror", residents and officials say.
Located 69 km west of Baghdad, the city that suffered two devastating U.S. attacks in 2004 has watched security degrade over recent months.
"Ruling powers in the city fighting to gain full control seem willing to use the security collapse to accuse each other of either conspiracy (in lawlessness) or incapability of control," Sufian Ahmed, a lawyer and human rights activist in Fallujah told IPS.
"They suddenly changed their tone from saying that the city was the safest in Iraq to claiming that al-Qaeda is a serious threat. Fallujah residents know their so-called leaders are using security threats to terrify them for their own political interests."
In the face of U.S. military claims of improved security, violence has been rising by the day this month. The city has now been placed under tight curfew while U.S. and Iraqi military forces prepare for a new offensive, according to the local Azzaman daily.
Iraqi security forces have established new checkpoints around the city and are forbidding movement of people and traffic. Pick-up trucks are roaming the city warning residents that al-Qaeda has once again infiltrated Fallujah.
Iraqi police officers insist that the situation is under control despite the "occasional incidents that take place all over Iraq."
The indications on the ground belie these claims. "The Americans and their allies transferred our leader, Colonel Fayssal al-Zoba'i from his post because they have bad plans for the city," a major in the Fallujah police force told IPS. "He has all the right to keep his post because he was the one who led us to defeat the insurgency while the Americans failed. They (the U.S. military) seem to have a plan to destroy the city again." Read On
By Ali al-Fadhily and Dahr Jamail*
FALLUJAH, Jul 21 (IPS) - U.S. and Iraqi forces are preparing another siege of Fallujah under the pretext of combating "terror", residents and officials say.
Located 69 km west of Baghdad, the city that suffered two devastating U.S. attacks in 2004 has watched security degrade over recent months.
"Ruling powers in the city fighting to gain full control seem willing to use the security collapse to accuse each other of either conspiracy (in lawlessness) or incapability of control," Sufian Ahmed, a lawyer and human rights activist in Fallujah told IPS.
"They suddenly changed their tone from saying that the city was the safest in Iraq to claiming that al-Qaeda is a serious threat. Fallujah residents know their so-called leaders are using security threats to terrify them for their own political interests."
In the face of U.S. military claims of improved security, violence has been rising by the day this month. The city has now been placed under tight curfew while U.S. and Iraqi military forces prepare for a new offensive, according to the local Azzaman daily.
Iraqi security forces have established new checkpoints around the city and are forbidding movement of people and traffic. Pick-up trucks are roaming the city warning residents that al-Qaeda has once again infiltrated Fallujah.
Iraqi police officers insist that the situation is under control despite the "occasional incidents that take place all over Iraq."
The indications on the ground belie these claims. "The Americans and their allies transferred our leader, Colonel Fayssal al-Zoba'i from his post because they have bad plans for the city," a major in the Fallujah police force told IPS. "He has all the right to keep his post because he was the one who led us to defeat the insurgency while the Americans failed. They (the U.S. military) seem to have a plan to destroy the city again." Read On
Monday, July 21, 2008
U.S. Perpetuates Mass Killings In Iraq
by Peter Phillips / July 19th, 2008
Dissident Voice
The United States is directly responsible for over one million Iraqi deaths since the invasion five and half years ago. In a January 2008 report, a British polling group Opinion Research Business (ORB) reports that, “survey work confirms our earlier estimate that over 1,000,000 Iraqi citizens have died as a result of the conflict which started in 2003…. We now estimate that the death toll between March 2003 and August 2007 is likely to have been of the order of 1,033,000. If one takes into account the margin of error associated with survey data of this nature then the estimated range is between 946,000 and 1,120,000”.
The ORB report comes on the heels of two earlier studies conducted by Johns Hopkins University published in the Lancet medical journal that confirmed the continuing numbers of mass deaths in Iraq. A study done by Dr. Les Roberts from January 1, 2002 to March 18 2003 put the civilian deaths at that time at over 100,000.
A second study published in the Lancet in October 2006 documented over 650,000 civilian deaths in Iraq since the start of the US invasion. The 2006 study confirms that US aerial bombing in civilian neighborhoods caused over a third of these deaths and that over half the deaths are directly attributable to US forces. Read On
Dissident Voice
The United States is directly responsible for over one million Iraqi deaths since the invasion five and half years ago. In a January 2008 report, a British polling group Opinion Research Business (ORB) reports that, “survey work confirms our earlier estimate that over 1,000,000 Iraqi citizens have died as a result of the conflict which started in 2003…. We now estimate that the death toll between March 2003 and August 2007 is likely to have been of the order of 1,033,000. If one takes into account the margin of error associated with survey data of this nature then the estimated range is between 946,000 and 1,120,000”.
The ORB report comes on the heels of two earlier studies conducted by Johns Hopkins University published in the Lancet medical journal that confirmed the continuing numbers of mass deaths in Iraq. A study done by Dr. Les Roberts from January 1, 2002 to March 18 2003 put the civilian deaths at that time at over 100,000.
A second study published in the Lancet in October 2006 documented over 650,000 civilian deaths in Iraq since the start of the US invasion. The 2006 study confirms that US aerial bombing in civilian neighborhoods caused over a third of these deaths and that over half the deaths are directly attributable to US forces. Read On
U.S. and NATO Forces Kill 13 Afghans in Strikes Said to Be Mistakes
By CARLOTTA GALL
NY Times, Published: July 21, 2008
KABUL, Afghanistan — United States and NATO missile and mortar strikes continued to exact a heavy toll on Afghans over the weekend, killing at least 13 in two attacks that Afghan officials said were mistakes.
In addition, one NATO soldier was killed in the eastern province of Khost on Sunday. Although NATO did not give the nationality of the soldier, United States forces are deployed in Khost.
Nine Afghan police officers were killed Sunday and five others were wounded in western Afghanistan when a convoy of Afghan and United States forces called in airstrikes on the officers, thinking they were militants. A presidential spokesman, Homayun Hamidzada, said the strikes were a case of unintended fire on allies.
At least four people were killed in the other episode when two mortar shells fired by the NATO-led force in Afghanistan went astray. Read On
NY Times, Published: July 21, 2008
KABUL, Afghanistan — United States and NATO missile and mortar strikes continued to exact a heavy toll on Afghans over the weekend, killing at least 13 in two attacks that Afghan officials said were mistakes.
In addition, one NATO soldier was killed in the eastern province of Khost on Sunday. Although NATO did not give the nationality of the soldier, United States forces are deployed in Khost.
Nine Afghan police officers were killed Sunday and five others were wounded in western Afghanistan when a convoy of Afghan and United States forces called in airstrikes on the officers, thinking they were militants. A presidential spokesman, Homayun Hamidzada, said the strikes were a case of unintended fire on allies.
At least four people were killed in the other episode when two mortar shells fired by the NATO-led force in Afghanistan went astray. Read On
U.S. Troops Kill Son of Iraqi Governor
Sun Jul 20, 9:25 AM ET
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. forces shot dead the 17-year-old son and another relative of the governor of northern Iraq's Salahuddin province in a raid on Sunday, local officials said.
The U.S. military said it shot two armed, adding it was later found they were both related to the governor.
Governor Hamad al-Qaisi's brother, Lieutenant-Colonel Saad al-Qaisi, said American troops stormed a family house in the town of Beiji, where the governor's son Hussam and his cousin were staying.
"They shot dead Hussam and wounded three others. This is barbaric and inhuman," he said.
A statement from the U.S. military said its forces had wounded and captured an al Qaeda financer in the house.
"As they entered the target building, coalition forces encountered two armed men. Perceiving hostile intent ... they shot and killed the men. It was subsequently determined that the two ... were related to the governor," the statement said.
Local officials said Governor al-Qaisi had cut short a visit to Turkey because of the shooting.
"We demand an investigation into this incident," Deputy Governor Abdullah Jabara said.
(Reporting by Sabah al-Bazee in Tikrit and Tim Cocks in Baghdad; Writing by Tim Cocks)
source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080720/wl_nm/iraq_violence_dc_1
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. forces shot dead the 17-year-old son and another relative of the governor of northern Iraq's Salahuddin province in a raid on Sunday, local officials said.
The U.S. military said it shot two armed, adding it was later found they were both related to the governor.
Governor Hamad al-Qaisi's brother, Lieutenant-Colonel Saad al-Qaisi, said American troops stormed a family house in the town of Beiji, where the governor's son Hussam and his cousin were staying.
"They shot dead Hussam and wounded three others. This is barbaric and inhuman," he said.
A statement from the U.S. military said its forces had wounded and captured an al Qaeda financer in the house.
"As they entered the target building, coalition forces encountered two armed men. Perceiving hostile intent ... they shot and killed the men. It was subsequently determined that the two ... were related to the governor," the statement said.
Local officials said Governor al-Qaisi had cut short a visit to Turkey because of the shooting.
"We demand an investigation into this incident," Deputy Governor Abdullah Jabara said.
(Reporting by Sabah al-Bazee in Tikrit and Tim Cocks in Baghdad; Writing by Tim Cocks)
source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080720/wl_nm/iraq_violence_dc_1
Nine Reasons To Investigate War Crimes Now
By Jeremy Brecher and Brendan Smith, The Nation. Posted July 19, 2008.
Why we can't let the Bush Administration get away with its crimes.
Retired General Antonio Taguba, the officer who led the Army's investigation into Abu Ghraib, recently wrote in the preface to the new report, Broken laws, Broken Lives:
"There is no longer any doubt as to whether the current administration has committed war crimes. The only question that remains to be answered is whether those who ordered the use of torture will be held to account."
Should those who ordered war crimes be held to account? With the conclusion of the Bush regime approaching, many people are dubious, even those horrified by Administration actions. They fear a long, divisive ordeal that could tear the country apart. They note that such division could make it far harder for the country to address the many other crises it is facing. They see the upcoming elections as a better way to set the country on a new path.
snip
Meanwhile, the evidence confirming not only a deliberate policy of torture, but of conspiring in an illegal war of aggression and conducting a criminal occupation, continues to pile ever higher. Bush's own press secretary Scott McClellan has revealed in his book, What Happened, how deliberately the public was misled to foment the attack on Iraq.
Philippe Sands' new book, Torture Team, has shown how the top legal and political leadership fought for a policy of torture -- circumventing and misleading top military officials to do so. Jane Mayer's The Dark Side, reveals that a secret report by the Red Cross -- given to the CIA and shared with President Bush and Condoleezza Rice -- found that U.S. interrogation methods are "categorically" torture and that the "abuse constituted war crimes, placing the highest officials in the U.S. government in jeopardy of being prosecuted."
Despite the reluctance to open what many see as a can of worms, there are fresh moves on many fronts to hold top U.S. officials accountable for war crimes. Read On
Why we can't let the Bush Administration get away with its crimes.
Retired General Antonio Taguba, the officer who led the Army's investigation into Abu Ghraib, recently wrote in the preface to the new report, Broken laws, Broken Lives:
"There is no longer any doubt as to whether the current administration has committed war crimes. The only question that remains to be answered is whether those who ordered the use of torture will be held to account."
Should those who ordered war crimes be held to account? With the conclusion of the Bush regime approaching, many people are dubious, even those horrified by Administration actions. They fear a long, divisive ordeal that could tear the country apart. They note that such division could make it far harder for the country to address the many other crises it is facing. They see the upcoming elections as a better way to set the country on a new path.
snip
Meanwhile, the evidence confirming not only a deliberate policy of torture, but of conspiring in an illegal war of aggression and conducting a criminal occupation, continues to pile ever higher. Bush's own press secretary Scott McClellan has revealed in his book, What Happened, how deliberately the public was misled to foment the attack on Iraq.
Philippe Sands' new book, Torture Team, has shown how the top legal and political leadership fought for a policy of torture -- circumventing and misleading top military officials to do so. Jane Mayer's The Dark Side, reveals that a secret report by the Red Cross -- given to the CIA and shared with President Bush and Condoleezza Rice -- found that U.S. interrogation methods are "categorically" torture and that the "abuse constituted war crimes, placing the highest officials in the U.S. government in jeopardy of being prosecuted."
Despite the reluctance to open what many see as a can of worms, there are fresh moves on many fronts to hold top U.S. officials accountable for war crimes. Read On
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
