The Pentagon plans on sending more reserves into Iraq, keeping troops there into 2009

A group of Palestinian refugees, who have been in a Jordanian refugee camp, are now headed for Brazil. Can you imagine the relief they feel!

President Bush stated yesterday: “The security situation is changing dramatically. … The economy is getting better.” A new report from the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction (SIGIR) says different. As we know, just because Bush says it doesn’t make it so.

The U.S. is looking for new supply routes into Iraq in case Turkey closes off its borders due to a resolution the U.S. congress is considering regarding the Armenian genocide of 1917. Bush stated yesterday: “One thing Congress should not be doing is sorting out the historical record of the Ottoman Empire. It has more important work to do than antagonise a democratic ally in the Muslim world.” I have to agree with the knucklehead on this one. Their focus should be elsewhere….. like say…..ending the war…….or……impeachment.

Turkey has decided to give the go-ahead for raids in Iraq. They voted overwhelmingly to send troops into Iraq. Syria backs this decision.

The U.S. isn’t too happy about Iraq’s decision to award $1.1 billion in contracts to Iranian and Chinese companies to build a pair of enormous power plants. The U.S. says it fears it will mask military activities. Iran has also agreed to provide cheap electricity to the Southern part of Iraq from its own power grid and will build a large power plant between Karbala and Najaf, basically free of charge. Is it military activities the U.S. fears, or embarrassment?

The Iraqi government is determined to crack down on security firms in Iraq. They plan to make foreign private security firms held accountable under Iraqi laws. Needless to say, it looks like Blackwater plans on withdrawing after their contract is up. God forbid they be held accountable!!!! Barnett Rubin takes a look at the crackdown on private security firms that is occuring in Afghanistan.

SECURITY DEVELOPMENTS IN IRAQ 10/18/07

Iraqi families are paying thousands of dollars to smuggle their children out of Iraq. Many children are making the dangerous journey to Sweden alone.

2 CommentsEmail Post Toggle Meta

Two Americans have been deported from Namibia. They were said to be recruiting Namibians as guards for United States operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. News reports said that the two were accused of violating Namibian law by trying to enlist Namibians as mercenaries in foreign conflicts without the government’s written permission

Iran stated again that it is willing to help the U.S. withdraw troops from Iraq if they choose to do so.

Iraq’s Vice President, Tareq al-Hashemi, arrived in Turkey to try and convince them not to stage a cross-border offensive to fight the Kurd militants.

A mother of a soldier in Iraq has found a way to get 80,000 cans of Silly String shipped to the soldiers after her son told her soldiers can shoot Silly String, which travels about 10-12 feet, across a room before entering. If it hangs in the air, that indicates a possible trip wire.

Since yesterday’s report that we’ve all but defeated al-Qaeda in Iraq, who will the hawks say is the next enemy there?

In an interview with Radio Free Europe, Kamran al-Karadaghi, a former chief of staff for Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, says that Iraq’s political climate will not improve until the country’s leaders find the political determination to make “very hard decisions.”

NPR reviews a new crop of memoirs from soldiers in Iraq, which highlights stories from the front lines, the complications of leadership, and the terrible choices that war presents.

Security developments in Iraq, 10/16/07

Leave a ReplyEmail Post Toggle Meta

5 U.S. soldiers died yesterday in Iraq, bringing the month’s total to 16. 84 have been wounded this month.

Two children were killed and 17 wounded when a bomb placed in a toy cart on a playground in Northern Iraq exploded.

A legal battle over trade secrets is holding up a shipment of IED detecting robots to our troops in Iraq.

Kurdish rebels (the PKK) announced today that they are moving back into Turkey from the mountains of Northern Iraq and will target Turkish politicians and police.

15 Iraqi women and children were killed in a raid in Lake Thar Thar region targeting al-Qaeda. The military stated that 19 terrorists were also killed. I wonder how much we’ve paid Iraqi civilians for the deaths of innocent people.

Ivana Vuco, the most senior UN human rights officer in Iraq, spoke yesterday about the shootings by private security guards, which have provoked outrage among Iraqis. “For us, it’s a human rights issue,” she said. “We will monitor the allegations of killings by security contractors and look into whether or not crimes against humanity and war crimes have been committed.” Bring those charges on!!!!

Turkey has recalled it’s ambassador to Washington yesterday after a house committee endorsed a resolution condemning the genocide that occured a century ago. This is a sticky situation for the U.S. since Turkey is a key supply route to troops in Iraq. Juan Cole has more on this sticky situation.

NPR’s Jamie Tarabay has a report and interview with an Iraqi man who has rearranged his life so that he and his wife very rarely have to leave the house. A true look at how NOT GOOD things are in Iraq.

Iraq’s national railway system is still down and is not one of the benchmarks the Bush administration would like the Iraqi’s to meet. Damien McElroy from the Telegraph reports.

Security developments in Iraq, 10/11/07

Leave a ReplyEmail Post Toggle Meta

Two U.S. soldiers were killed today when Camp Victory, a major U.S. base in Iraq, was attacked.

The Marine Corp. is pressing to have their troops removed from Iraq and sent to Afghanistan.

Reports in recent days have noted more barbaric actions by Al-Qaeda as they have increased attacks during Ramadan using indiscriminate violence, murder and intimidation,” Major-General Kevin Bergner said on Wednesday. At least 16 people killed and 45 wounded in various attacks, including seven involving improvised bombs

The scale of the overall displacement of Iraqis is unprecedented in the modern history of the Middle East. The BBC reports there are now over 4 million Iraqis forced to flee their homes and the number is rising.

The State Department is said to be considering limited use of mercenaries in Iraq.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan may ask parliament on Thursday to authorise a military incursion into northern Iraq to fight Kurdish rebels using the region as a base. Turkish warplanes and helicopter gunships attacked suspected positions of Kurdish rebels near Iraq on Wednesday, a possible prelude to a cross-border operation that would likely raise tensions with Washington.

Security developments 10/10/07

Leave a ReplyEmail Post Toggle Meta

11 U.S. deaths in October and 84 wounded.

Turkey is drawing up authorization plans for military incursion into northern Iraq to stop Kurdish rebels using the area as a base. The U.S. is opposed to this action.

Iraqi officials are investigating the shooting deaths of two Iraqi women by mercenaries employed with Unity Resources Group. Unity provides security services to RTI International, a group based in Research Triangle Park, N.C., that promotes governance projects in Iraq for the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Security developments for 10/10/07

Coalition forces in Iraq are withering. At its height, in the months after Saddam Hussein was toppled, the multinational force numbered about 300,000 soldiers from 38 countries 250,000 from the United States, about 40,000 from Britain and the rest ranging from 2,000 Australians to 70 Albanians. By January of this year, though, the combined non-U.S. contingent had dwindled to just over 14,000. As of Tuesday, it stood at 20 nations and roughly 11,400 soldiers.

Iraq officials are seeking $9 million apiece for victims of the Blackwater shooting in September. Gee, that’s alot more than the $5,000. they thought was fair!

The Polish embassy in Iraq has been move for safety reasons after an attack on diplomat’s cars and the wounding of the Polish Ambassador.

Time magazine askes if the U.S. has abandoned Shiite Souhern Iraq, and answers…yes.

As a side note, I watched some of the Republican debate last night. If any one of these idiots becomes President (other than Ron Paul), and Bush hasn’t attacked Iran yet…… they will. When asked if a President needs congressional authorization to attack, Romney actually answered, I’d have to ask my attorney. WTF………

3 CommentsEmail Post Toggle Meta

8 U.S. troops have died in Iraq so far this month. 127 Iraqis have died so far this month. (that we know of)

Iraq’s Prime Minister al-Maliki stated Sunday that the Blackwater shootings of Iraqi civilians was deliberate murder and they should be punished accordingly. (like that will happen)

Iran has reopened 5 border crossings with Kurdish-run northern Iraq. The borders had been closed last month in protest of the kidnapping and arrest of an Iranian businessman by U.S. troops.

The situation at the Turkish border is heating up, as Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to step up the nation’s fight against rebels from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party after Turkey’s army suffered its worst casualties for more than a decade.

Shiite leaders, who have signed a pact, look to dominate with Moqtada al-Sadr and Abdel Aziz al-Hakim deciding to try to end the bloodshed between their movements that was threatening to undermine their pursuit of power.

The Czech Republic is planning pulling its troops out of Iraq. They have about 100 soldiers deployed to Iraq.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said most U.S. troops should be able to return home by the end of 2008. (sooner, please)

The U.S. military has accused the Iranian ambassador of undisclosed membership in a Revolutionary Guard force and announcing the arrests of three men it described as Iranian agents responsible for kidnappings and weapons smuggling. (beat beat beat of the drum drum drum)

Security developments in Iraq, 10/8/07

Leave a ReplyEmail Post Toggle Meta

Thousands of Iraqi immigrants have seen their life savings depleted by the high cost of living in Jordan and have now resorted to begging.

The U.S. embassy in Iraq repeated it’s support for a unified Iraq, voicing their objection to a Senate resolution to partition the country into three states.

Civilian deaths from violence across Iraq fell by 50 percent in September from the previous month to the lowest level recorded this year, government data showed on Monday. According to Iraq Coalition Casualties, there were 746 civilian deaths and 96 Iraq Security Forces deaths in September. In August there there were 1,598 civilian deaths and 76 Iraq Security Forces deaths. In September of 06 there were 3,389 civilian deaths and 180 Iraq Security Forces deaths. I wonder if they’ve changed the definitions again. Maybe now if you’re shot on any day ending with a Y, it’s not a sectarian death. It would be wonderful if this down turn in deaths continues, but it’s hard to believe anything they report.

Residents in Basra have reported that life is much quieter and safer since the British troops were withdrawn. Soooooo……. wouldn’t other areas be safer for the Iraqis if American targets were removed?????

Three more people have died of cholera in Iraq bringing the total to 14. There have been 2,758 confirmed cases.
Things aren’t looking good in Iraq’s northern oil hub, where hospitals are reporting up to 100 new cases of cholera a day as the bacterial disease continues to spread across the country, a top medical official said Monday.

At a September 27th breakfast meeting with a group of democrats, Secretary of Defense Gates informed them that the war in Iraq, and lack of allies to contribute more troops is hurting the effort in Afghanistan.

The Washington Post reports on the steep price the U.S. pays for private security contractors.

Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen, the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is troubled by the Iraq war. He thinks it has become such a consuming focus of U.S. attention that it may be overstretching the military and distracting the nation from other threats. Gee, ya think????

Security developments in Iraq 10/1/07

Leave a ReplyEmail Post Toggle Meta

59 U.S. deaths thus far in September.

Turkey and Iraq have signed an agreement and pledged to stop terrorist activity in Northern Iraq, primarly the PKK.

You’re gonna love this one. Yesterday an intelligence official testified to congress that part of the reason they couldn’t find three kidnapped soldiers in Iraq last May was because they had to wait ten hours to get a wiretap. Sounds like bullshit to me. They can set a wiretap and then have 72 hours to get approval. The delay had nothing to do with the FISA law. It had to do with them deciding if it was legal or not and then trying to get ahold of the travelling Gonzo for final approval. They have the authority to wiretap and THEN get approval. And mind you, this is three days after the kidnapping.

al-Maliki rejects the U.S. Senate’s proposal of decentralization of Iraq’s government and giving more control to the country’s ethnically divided regions. Iraq expert Reidar Visser discusses this vote and whether it’s unconstitutional.

A document from the U.S. embassy in Baghdad states that the Iraqi government isn’t capable of even rudimentary enforcement of anti-corruption laws” and the prime minister’s office is openly hostile to the idea of an independent anti-corruption agency.

It’s now reported that one of the Blackwater Security guards at the scene of the September 16th shooting incident was screaming “Stop shooting….stop shooting.” An U.S.-Iraqi commission is to meet today to work out details of oversight of private security contractors in Iraq.

The U.S. carried out an airstrike early this morning in the Al-Saha neighborhood in southwestern Baghdad that killed 10 people, including women and children.

Security developments in Iraq 9/28/07

Leave a ReplyEmail Post Toggle Meta

57 U.S. deaths in Iraq so far this month

Trouble on the Kurd/Iran border.

U.S. moves in Iraq may push Iraq/Iran governments closer.

Prime Minister al-Maliki, like a good little boy, said on Monday, “Those “who destroyed the towers of the (World) Trade Center are the same as those who blew up the (Golden Mosque) in Samarra and carried out the bombings of hotels in Jordan and Algeria.” What he didn’t say is this wouldn’t have happened if we hadn’t invaded Iraq to begin with.

A suicide bombing at a “reconciliation meeting” in Diyala killed 24 and wounded 37.

Iraq’s Interior Ministry has finished draft legislation that would end legal immunity for private security contractors.

Supporters of Moqtada al-Sadr have embarked on a tour of neighbouring countries to explain his group’s latest anti-US strategies.

The 3rd Battalion, 23rd Marines, a combat outfit of about 850 Marines, is launching from California through the week to serve a 7-month tour in al-Anbar. (Why are sending yet more troops into Iraq? Or are they replacing troops who are coming home???)

What defines a killing as Sectarian?

In keeping with supporting our troops (NOT), the government investigators says veteran’s data is still at risk because safety measures haven’t been implemented.

Leave a ReplyEmail Post Toggle Meta

There have been 54 U.S. deaths in Iraq thus far in September

Security developments in Iraq 9/24/07

Iraq said today no action will be taken against Blackwater Security in the shooting that left 11 Iraqis dead, until an inquiry is complete. They are afraid of the hole in security this would leave and are being told if they have to replace Blackwater personnel with U.S. troops, the troops would have to be drawn away from other areas.

Iran closed it’s border with Iraq in the Kurdish region in protest of the Iranian kidnapped and arrested last week. Iraqi President Talibani has demanded his release.

The U.S. continues to say (on a daily basis) that Iran is supplying weapons to insurgents in Iraq. As we all know, just because they say it doesn’t make it so.

Iraq has resumed the flow of Kirkuk crude oil to the Turkish export terminal, Ceyhan, for the last two days after a suspension of 10 days due to the Turkish storage facilities being full.

The Pentagon has encouraged some U.S. sniper groups to use bait to lure insurgents and then kill them when they take the bait.
Eugene Fidell, president of the National Institute of Military Justice, said such a baiting program should be examined “quite meticulously” because it raises troubling possibilities, such as what happens when civilians pick up the items. Gee let me guess what happens……more innocent Iraqis die.

al-Maliki speaks out about the Blackwater shooting and the Iranian businessman who was arrested…..kind of. Tell me what’s sovereign about a nation that has no control over who is arrested and who is not……or who’s shooting who?

Amnesty International releases a statement that the international community is failing to adequetely address the Iraqi refugee crisis.

The U.S. is building a $5 million dollar base on the Iran border in Zurbatiya. Raytheon has been contracted $5 million to provide Rapid Aerostat Initial Deployment (RAID) Mobile Eagle Eye tower systems. Gee…..more poor planning. Shouldn’t this have been done LONG ago?

Things are going so well in Mosul that five local non-government organizations are closing their doors, due to violence against aid workers and volunteers. Of the five, two provided humanitarian assistance to displaced families, one dealt with women’s rights and the other two were working with children. One of the latter was supporting children with cancer or psychological problems.

The New York Times reports the graft in U.S. army contracts spread from a Kuwait base.

Leave a ReplyEmail Post Toggle Meta

The UN is hosting a meeting today to discuss how to get Iraq back on it’s feet. Saturday’s gathering will be attended by representatives from 20 countries, including the five permanent members of the UN Security Council — Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States — and eight neighbors of Iraq — Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Turkey.

The U.S. states its made 25 arrests in the assassination of the leader of the U.S.-backed revolt by Sunni Arab tribesmen in the western Anbar province against al-Qaida in Iraq.

Bush plans to ask for $200 billion for the Iraq war in 2008 budget.

Some 150 Sunni Arab families were displaced from a mixed Sunni and Shiite neighborhood after clashes between residents and Mahdi Army militia, loyal to radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

Iraqis are once again streaming into Syria, taking advantage of the Syrian government’s relaxation of visa regulations due to the holy month of Ramadan. It’s reported 1,000 Iraqis a day are crossing the border.

Security developments in Iraq 9/22/07

Kurds in Iraq are demanding the release of the Iranian trade official kidnapped and arrested this week.

There is widespread skeptism about the report that the surge is working.

More delays in shift of security control to the Iraqis. Goalposts keep on moving. Now July is the goal date.

According to a Pentagon report, 60% of trained Iraqi security forces have disappeared.

But hey, things are going so well, congress felt it could waste time on a useless vote to condemn freedom of speech. Idiots.

Leave a ReplyEmail Post Toggle Meta

18 U.S. deaths in Iraq this week, three yesterday.

Blackwater security is back on the streets of Baghdad in limited missions, protecting U.S. embassy employees and other officials. Lawyer Hassan Jabir, who was stuck in traffic during the Blackwater shoot out, recalls the horrific incident.

The Kurdistan Regional Goverment calls the kidnapping and arrest of an Iranian man from his hotel by U.S. forces “illegitimate.” Aghai Farhadi, a member of an economic and commercial delegation from the Iranian governorate of Karmanshah had been in Iraq for a week for discussions on opening a border crossing near Panjween,68 miles east of Sulaimaniyah, and other trade-related issues. Juan Cole has more on this, as reported in the Arabic newspapers:

The US kidnapped another Iranian from Iraqi Kurdistan, alleging that he is an officer in the Quds Force section of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and an arms smuggler. The Kurdistan Regional Authority says that he is Aghai Farhadi, a trade representative of Kirmanshah Province in Iran. Juan Cole has more on this:

The World Health Organization reports a confirmed case of cholera in Baghdad. Some 100,000 tons of chlorine were being held up at Iraq’s border with Jordan apparently because of fears the chemical could be used in explosives. Juan Cole points out that without chlorine, water purification plants won’t work, which means Iraqis downstream of a big city are drinking sewage.

The Iraq Embassy builder has been tied to kickbacks. The scheme, outlined in a now’sealed court document obtained by The Associated Press, allegedly involved First Kuwaiti General Trading & Contracting and a manager for Kellogg Brown & Root Inc. or KBR, a firm hired to handle logistics for the military in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Marines have deployed the first Osprey combat squadron to Iraq, after decades in development due in part to a series of mechanical failures and fatal crashes.

Robert Raggio, who quit his job as a financial manager for the Iraq reconstruction effort in September 2005 to “pursue other activities.” That same day, Raggio’s newly formed company, Reviewer Management International (RMI), received a U.S. contract to audit $7.3 billion in Iraqi reconstruction spending, according to Army documents obtained by USA TODAY under the Freedom of Information Act. He is now under investigation.

The Pentagon reports that security handover to Iraqis will be delayed AGAIN……because things are going so well!

Iraq’s Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi said Sunni Arabs cannot “wait forever” for the Shi’ite-led government to press ahead with a reconciliation agenda and said it could eventually face a no-confidence vote.

Security developments in Iraq 9/21/07

Vanity Fair has a good article regarding the missing billions of dollars sent to Iraq from the Federal Reserve.

And last but not least, President Shit For Brains thinks Nelson Mandela is dead.

2 CommentsEmail Post Toggle Meta

There were 5 U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq yesterday, 9/18/2007.

The International Organization for Migration reported Tuesday that there are 50,000 more displaced Iraqi’s since July and things are getting worse, despite the U.S. surge.

Two civilians who survived who survived Sunday’s Blackwater shootout in Iraq state the attack was unprovoked. Hassan Jaber Salma, 50, a lawyer who suffered eight gunshot wounds in the incident, said he and other motorists were attempting to clear a path for the convoy when the Blackwater guards suddenly strafed the line of traffic with gunfire.

Due to the Blackwater incident, the U.S. has suspended all land travel for U.S. citizens and diplomats outside the Green Zone.

After meeting with General David Petraeus, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is expected to announce drawdown plans next month. It’s reported the U.S. and Britian are split over strategy in Southern Iraq, where the British have withdrawn troops and placed them at the Basra Airport.

In case Countdown checks in here (as if) my vote for worst person…..Matt Radula.

The U.S. senate is set to vote on four proposals regarding troop withdrawals in the next few weeks.

Kurdish women are dying of suspicious burns. Why? Since August 10, Kurdistan has had nine deaths from its cholera epidemic; in the same period, there were 25 young women dead of burns.

Sunni Arabs in Baghdad fear seeking medical treatment will be a death sentence.

Security developments in Iraq 9/19/2007

Bush had a roundtable talk with military bloggers last week…. pro Bush bloggers. What’s the point? Singing to the choir…….

Leave a ReplyEmail Post Toggle Meta

17 U.S. troops died in Iraq this week.

Security developments in Iraq today, 9/16/07

A US unit is trying a new way of training Iraqi soldiers. For years, U.S. training and combat teams have been separate, but Army Lt. Col Morschauser has taken a new approach. Every patrol and assault in this region that used to be known as the Triangle of Death is now a joint operation between U.S. and Iraqi forces _ and a training opportunity.

The number of Iraqi Army and police battalions considered ready to conduct combat operations without help from the United States has declined from 15 at the beginning of the year to 12 this month, and at the same time, Pentagon assessments show that the number of Iraqi battalions considered “not ready” increased from 13 in November 2006 to 43 this past summer. The Petraeus plan, which Bush adopted last week, depends on a sufficient number of capable Iraqi units replacing at least 20,000 US combat troops that are set to return home beginning this month……..so where’s that leave us?

The U.S. claims to have caught the Al Qaeda militant responsible for the assasination of key Sunni tribal leader Abdul Sattar Abu Risha.

The U.S. is expands it’s al Anbar model to the Shiites. Good luck with that. Let’s arm everbody and see what happens, eh?

Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s government is falling apart at the seams. Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr movement is withdrawing its 32 MPs from the United Iraqi Alliance (UIA), leaving Maliki’s coalition in control of only about half the seats in parliament.

Pepe Escobar reports on the “Anbar Myth”

Iraq is to start delivery of discounted oil to Jordan this week.

Alan Greenspan tells us the war in Iraq is all about the oil. Ya think? That and the billions and billions of dollars that have been made by military contractors.

Georgia plans on reducing its troops in Iraq in July, from 2,000 to 300.

Concerning Iran…………

The IAEA said a congressional report contained serious distortions of the agency’s own findings on Iran’s nuclear activity. It says the report was wrong to say that Iran had enriched uranium to weapons-grade level when the IAEA had only found small quantities of enrichment at far lower levels. Sound familiar?

2 CommentsEmail Post Toggle Meta

The upcoming White House report on progress in Iraq will show slow progress (slow as in molasses dripping from a tree in the dead of winter) in Iraq, according to sources.

The cholera outbreak in northern Iraq has infected some 16,000 people since late August and killed 10.

A British poll states the Iraqi death toll could top 1 million.

A truck bomb kills seven police north of Baghdad.

Mourners at Sheikh Abdul Sattar Abu Risha’s funeral vow revenge. This assassination blows apart Bush’s “success in Anbar” story.

Other security developments in Iraq 9/14/07

Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Friday that US President George W. Bush had been defeated in his Middle East plans and would one day stand trial for “atrocities” committed in Iraq.

Various responses to President Shitforbrain’s speech last night can be read here

Is this the real reason we’re in Iraq? The Great Iraq Swindle.

Former U.S. officials discuss Bush’s war stance at PBS

2 CommentsEmail Post Toggle Meta