Iraq

By Brian Stelter, New York Times

Quietly, as the United States presidential election and its aftermath have dominated the news, America's three broadcast network news divisions have stopped sending full-time correspondents to Iraq.

"The war has gone on longer than a lot of news organizations' ability or appetite to cover it," said Jane Arraf, a former Baghdad bureau chief for CNN who has remained in Iraq as a contract reporter for The Christian Science Monitor.

Joseph Angotti, a former vice president of NBC News, said he could not recall any other time when all three major broadcast networks lacked correspondents in an active war zone that involved United States forces.

Except, of course, in Afghanistan, where about 30,000 Americans are stationed, and where until recently no American television network, broadcast or cable, maintained a full-time bureau.

There will be a vigil Tues. Dec. 30 from 4:30-6:30 pm to protest the Israeli Siege of Palestinians (over 350 Palestinians have been killed, over 1,000 wounded in 3 days) in Gaza. The local vigil will be at the corner of City Hall Ave and St. Paul's Blvd (where the usual peace vigil is organized by Catholic Workers) in downtown Norfolk.

PLEASE COME. During this season of the Moslem New Year, also Kwanzaa, Hannukah, Christmas, and the New Year Holiday, join us in solidarity for those who struggle this week. Please spread the word and COME!

If you have questions about directions or anything email me at choppe4@gmail.com .

By AFP

WASHINGTON (AFP) — US activists on Monday urged Baghdad to release the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at US President George W. Bush, insisting that his gesture was meant to insult, not harm the US leader.

"This was a form of insult... If he had wanted to hurt George Bush, he would have chosen a different weapon," Medea Benjamin of the Codepink peace activism group told AFP at a rally of about a dozen people outside the Iraqi consulate in Washington.

Zaidi, 29, threw his shoes at Bush during the US president's surprise visit to Iraq on December 14, an action considered a grave insult in the Arab world.

He is due to appear in court in Baghdad on Wednesday on charges of "aggression against a foreign head of state during an official visit," an offense which could see him go to jail for up to 15 years.

By Dave Lindorff

Vice President Dick Cheney has cultivated the image of a serious tough guy, with his grim, scowling vissage, his dismissive "So?" comments when things go badly, his unrepentant defense of torture, including waterboarding, and his brash statements confirming that he approved the interrogation measures that clearly violated US criminal statutes and the Geneva Conventions.

But it appears we willl in a few days get to discover whether Cheney really is a tough guy, or whether he is in truth just the same corpulent, self-centered hypocrite and gutless coward that he was back in the 1960s when, despite being a vocal backer of the Vietnam War, he ducked the draft not once but five times by arranging for student and marriage deferments, which he later defended by saying he had "other priorities" than serving his country.

Top Ten Myths about Iraq, 2008
by Juan Cole | Informed Comment

1. Iraqis are safer because of Bush's War. In fact, conditions of insecurity have helped created both an internal and external refugee problem:

' At least 4.2 million Iraqis were displaced. These included 2.2 million who were displaced within Iraq and some 2 million refugees, mostly in Syria (around 1.4 million) and Jordan (around half a million). In the last months of the year both these neighbouring states, struggling to meet the health, education and other needs of the Iraqi refugees already present, introduced visa requirements that impeded the entry of Iraqis seeking refuge. Within Iraq, most governorates barred entry to Iraqis fleeing sectarian violence elsewhere.'

US Iraq Casualties Rise to 70,231
by Michael Munk | MichaelMunk.com

US military occupation forces in Iraq suffered 29 combat casualties in the eight days ending Dec.24 as the official casualty total rose to at least 70,262. The total includes 34,305 dead and wounded from what the Pentagon classifies as "hostile" causes and more than 35,957 dead and medically evacuated (as of Dec. 6, 2008) from "non-hostile" causes.*

The actual total is over 90,000 because the Pentagon chooses not to count as "Iraq casualties" the more than 20,000 veterans whose injuries-mainly brain trauma from explosions--were diagnosed only after they had left Iraq..**

How a shoe put the boot to Bush's Iraq legacy
By Olivia Ward | The Star.com

It was the thud heard around the world.

Just hours after Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zeidi tossed his footwear at U.S. President George W. Bush, who was making a farewell appearance in Baghdad, the other shoe dropped.

Thousands of Iraqis poured out their support for the angry gesture, al-Zeidi's backers plunged the parliament into bitter controversy, and Bush's insistence that his "surge" of increased U.S. troops had put the country on the road to peace and progress rang hollow.

A Disturbing Night in Iraq: Witnessing the Abuse of 'Insurgent' Prisoners
By Tim King | Salem-News.com

Note: This report is 3 months old, but is re-published for its' first hand account of US treatment of Iraqi detainees. ~Chip :)

This story was written in the early days of September, 2008; about the night that I encountered questionable treatment of Iraqi prisoners, while flying in a U.S. Army CH-47 helicopter from Fallujah, to Balad, Iraq.

I have delayed publishing it, but more revelations today about the authorized torture and abuse of prisoners in Iraq by Bush Administration officials caused us to make the decision to release this.

By Daphne Eviatar, The Washington Independent

Blackwater case shines light on status force agreement loophole.

Earlier this month, the Department of Justice announced to great fanfare that it had indicted five guards employed by the private security firm Blackwater Worldwide for their role in a Baghdad shooting that left 17 Iraqis dead last year. A sixth guard had pled guilty to manslaughter and weapons violations.

But lawyers for the five men indicted in the first case of its kind appear to have a strong defense, regardless of the circumstances of the shooting: private security guards contracting with the Department of State may not be subject to American law. And despite a new Status of Forces Agreement negotiated between the United States and the Iraqi government that would seem to make future contractors subject to Iraqi law, guards like the Blackwater men hired by the State Department may glide through a large loophole in that new agreement as well.

By Michael Schwartz

On December 15, I appeared with two other Iraq experts on "Hearts and Minds," a political affairs show on PressTV (which broadcasts in English in Europe and the Middle East. The discussion was, I think, very illuminating, reflecting a broad range issue relating to the SOFA agreement. The hour-long show can be viewed here.

A rally calling on the Iraqi Government to free Montather Al-Ziedi, the man who threw his shoes at George W. Bush, will be held Monday, December 29 at noon in front of the Iraqi consulate to the United States, located at 1801 P Street NW in Washington, DC.

The rally is timed to immediately precede Mr. Al-Ziedi’s appearance in the Central Criminal Court of Iraq on Dec. 31, New Year’s Eve. Mr. Al-Ziedi was arrested December 14 after hurling his shoes at Mr. Bush during a press conference in Baghdad.

"Al-Zeidi did not attempt to physically hurt George Bush but to insult him and express the deep anger that so many Iraqis feel over the U.S. occupation. He should be immediately released and the Iraqi government should be held accountable for abusing him while in custody," said Medea Benjamin, co-founder of the peace group CODEPINK.

By Adam Ashton, McClatchy Newspapers

BAGHDAD - The families of three men who were killed last week during a search of a grain warehouse want to press charges against American soldiers under the terms of a new security agreement between the U.S. and Iraq.

The security document protects American soldiers so long as they're on U.S. bases or on missions, so it's unlikely that the families can base their claims on it, though they plan to press their case with the help of international lawyers.

Nonetheless, their charges are a preview of some of the nettlesome questions that are likely to arise as the U.S. yields more authority to Iraq under the terms of the pact, which takes effect Jan. 1.

Iraqis will lead operations, but U.S. forces will continue to have a high profile with their more advanced armor and weapons.

JANUARY 6th, 2009
OPENING OF THE 111th CONGRESS
WASHINGTON, D.C.

THE MARCH OF THE DEAD WILL BE THERE

WE CARRY THE NAMES OF THOSE KILLED
DURING THE ILLEGAL U.S. INVASION AND OCCUPATION
OF IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN
AND WE WILL CARRY THE NAMES FROM THE
MOUNTING DEATH TOLL IN PALESTINE

TO DEMAND THAT THIS CONGRESS
END THE
TERROR OF WAR
GET OUT OF IRAQ
GET OUT OF AFGHANISTAN
STAY OUT OF IRAN, PAKISTAN, SYRIA...
AND CONDEMN THE BRUTAL DESTRUCTION
OF PALESTINE

WE NEED YOU TO TAKE PART IN
THE MARCH OF THE DEAD
MAKE IT A PRESENCE ON CAPITOL HILL THAT CAN'T BE IGNORED

Shoe Hurled at Bush Flies Off Turkish Maker’s Shelves
By Mark Bentley | Bloomberg.com | Submitted by Michael Munk | www.MichaelMunk.com

The shoe hurled at President George W. Bush has sent sales soaring at the Turkish maker as orders pour in from Iraq, the U.S. and Iran.

The brown, thick-soled “Model 271” may soon be renamed “The Bush Shoe” or “Bye-Bye Bush,” Ramazan Baydan, who owns the Istanbul-based producer Baydan Ayakkabicilik San. & Tic., said in a telephone interview today.

“We’ve been selling these shoes for years but, thanks to Bush, orders are flying in like crazy,” he said. “We’ve even hired an agency to look at television advertising.”

LONDON (AP) — Protesters shook their shoes at the U.S. Embassy in London on Friday in a show of support for a jailed Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at President George W. Bush during a news conference in Iraq.

Up to 50 demonstrators, some carrying shoes mounted on sticks, protested the arrest of journalist Muntadhar al-Zeidi and called for his release.

"He has stood up against the silence and the lies that we have been forced to take all too often in the British and international media," said David Crouch, the chairman of Media Workers Against The War, a group representing anti-war journalists.

"Our role is to give a voice to people who don't have a voice and for that reason al-Zeidi might as well have thrown 27 million shoes at George Bush, because he was speaking for the vast overwhelming majority of the Iraqi population," Crouch said.

By Waleed Ibrahim and Ahmed Rasheed, Reuters

BAGHDAD, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Iraq's parliament voted on Saturday to reject a draft law that allows troops from Britain, Australia and several other countries to remain beyond the end of this year, Iraqi parliamentarians said.

The draft law, under which those troops would withdraw by the end of July, was rejected because lawmakers objected to it being in the form of legislation, rather than an agreement as was the deal Iraq signed with the United States, said Hussein al-Falluji, a member of the Sunni Accordance Front.

"Legally relations between two countries cannot be organised by a law. They should be arranged, according to international law, through treaties or agreements," said Falluji.

"For this reason parliament rejected this law. It was a big mistake by the government."

Part 1: Colonel Ann Wright, NoWar-NoWarming arrests, IVAW arrests, David Swanson-Afterdowningstreet, IVAW Geoff Milliard, Nadia McCaffery-GSFP, Codepink, Medea Benjamin. March, 2008.

Part 2: Codepink, Desiree Fairooz&Condi Rice "Bloody Hands," Dennis Kuchinich, Cindy Sheehan, Ramsey Clark, IVAW Kelly Doughery, IVAW Toby Hartburger, IVAW Geoff Milliard. March, 2008.

Part 3: Tina Richards-MFSO, Cloy Richards-IVAW, March on the Pentagon, Dennis Kuchinich, Dr. Justin Frank, Davd Frum-Bush Speechwriter, Mara Hilliar-Lawyer, Ramsey Clark, Coffins at the Ellipse, Al Zappala-GSFP. March, 2008.

Part 4: Al Zappala & Joan Kosloff-Gold Star, Geoff Milliard-IVAW, Mara Hilliard-Lawyer, Medea Benjamin-Codepink, Geroge Bush, Nancy Pelois, Dennis Kuchinich, Joe Biden, John McCain, Karen Meredith-Gold Star, Nadia McCaffery-Gold Star, Dr. Justin Frank, David Frum. March, 2008.

By Dave Lindorff

A new congressional report is belatedly confirming what many have long known: that the White House and in particular then White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales, lied to Congress in 2004 when he told them the Bush administration was not repeatedly warned by the CIA not to make the claim that Saddam had tried to buy uranium ore from Niger.

What is astonishing about this report, which documents that the CIA at least four times tried to prevent Bush and other top officials from presenting that lie to Congress and the American public in the run-up to the Iraq invasion, is not that it documents what has long been known, but that Congress and the corporate media are still pretending that the claim itself was an acceptable justification for launching a war.

By Gareth Porter, IPS

WASHINGTON, Dec 18 (IPS) - U.S. military leaders and Pentagon officials have made it clear through public statements and deliberately leaked stories in recent weeks that they plan to violate a central provision of the U.S.-Iraq withdrawal agreement requiring the complete withdrawal of all U.S. combat troops from Iraqi cities by mid-2009 by reclassifying combat troops as support troops.

The scheme to engage in chicanery in labeling U.S. troops represents both open defiance of an agreement which the U.S. military has never accepted and a way of blocking President-elect Barack Obama's proposed plan for withdrawal of all U.S. combat troops from Iraq within 16 months of his taking office.

Generals Propose a Timetable for Iraq
By ELISABETH BUMILLER and THOM SHANKER, NY Times

WASHINGTON — A new military plan for troop withdrawals from Iraq that was described in broad terms this week to President-elect Barack Obama falls short of the 16-month timetable Mr. Obama outlined during his election campaign, United States military officials said Wednesday.

The plan was proposed by the top American commanders responsible for Iraq, Gen. David H. Petraeus and Gen. Ray Odierno, and it represents their first recommendation on troop withdrawals under an Obama presidency. While Mr. Obama has said he will seek advice from his commanders, their resistance to a faster drawdown could present the new president with a tough political choice between overruling his generals or backing away from his goal.

Iraqis Say: You're a Dog

Iraq Bans Security Contractor: Blackwater Faulted In Baghdad Killings
By Joshua Partlow and Walter Pincus, Washington Post

BAGHDAD, Sept. 17 -- The Iraqi government on Monday said it had revoked the license of Blackwater USA, an American security company involved in a shootout in Baghdad that killed at least nine people, raising questions over which nation should regulate tens of thousands of civilian hired guns operating in Iraq.

The Iraqi government's announcement was its most public assertion to date of its right to take action against foreign security companies when a suspected crime has been committed.

Several violent episodes involving Blackwater have infuriated Iraqi officials. An Interior Ministry spokesman, Brig. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf, said the decision meant Blackwater "cannot work in Iraq any longer."

More here.

Total 8 mins.; report begins at 1:30 min.

By Matthew Lee, Associated Press

WASHINGTON - A State Department advisory panel is recommending that Blackwater Worldwide be dropped as the main private security contractor for American diplomats in Iraq, The Associated Press has learned.

A senior official familiar with a report commissioned by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told the AP on Wednesday that the panel has called for Blackwater's contract not to be renewed when it expires next year. A decision on the recommendation will be left to the Obama administration, which will be in place when the contract comes up for renewal in the spring.

Rice ordered a review of the department's use of private security firms last September after an incident in which Blackwater guards killed 17 Iraqis in Baghdad. Five guards have been indicted on manslaughter and other charges stemming from that incident. The company was not implicated.

The Defining Moment
by Lawrence DiStasi | DiStasi Blog

Our now legacy-conscious president made what should be his final surprise visit to Iraq this weekend, and lo and behold, left us with what I predict will be the defining moment of his presidency. As he was giving a talk side by side with Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki, an Iraqi journalist named Muntazer al-Zaidi threw first one shoe, and then the other at the “leader of the free world.” As he did so, he shouted,

“It is the farewell kiss, you dog.”

Though both shoes missed the U.S. president—he ducked the first, and Maliki deflected the second—the report of the double insult rocketed around the world. For the reporter had not only called Iraq’s self-proclaimed liberator a “dog,” itself an insult, but threw his shoes in a culture where such an act is considered the ultimate insult. Or rather, the soles of shoes are the ultimate insult; after Saddam Hussein’s statue was torn down in Baghdad, some Iraqis slapped its severed head with the soles of their shoes.

President Bush, of course, was quick to dismiss the incident as bizarre and limited, saying “I don’t think you can take one guy throwing shoes and say, this represents a broad movement in Iraq.” But the damage has been done. Bush has taken the reputation of the United States to such abysmal depths that even a common reporter, one from a country we are told should be grateful for the sacrifice of U.S. lives and U.S. treasure, dares to hurl public insults at its most exalted figure.