Jan 08 2010
As noted the other day the British Iraq War Inquiry has resumed after their holiday break.
Below you will find some of the reports from the outlets of these past days testimonies and what’s coming up. These are more focused on the British with little mention, unlike before the holidays, of what was going on here in this country and our administration and military leaders.
Oct 18 2008
is none of the above.
By now we’ve all heard that McCain’s “Joe the Plumber”:
It reminded me of something, but I couldn’t put my finger on it till this morning when 30,000 demonstrated in Baghdad against the US occupation, with the encouragement of the man inevitably described in US media as “anti-American cleric Moqtada Al Sadr“. So this might be the perfect time to point out that Al Sadr:
In short, the only thing our press has been reporting correctly are his popularity and his name.
Apr 21 2008
A story in today’s Los Angeles Times quotes U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice mocking Shi’ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. In Rice, in Iraq, lashes out at Muqtada al-Sadr, she said of al-Sadr:
“He is still living in Iran,” she said. “I guess it’s all-out war for anybody but him.
“His followers can go to their death and he will still be in Iran.”
Has George W. Bush served alongside American troops in Iraq, or can they go to their death while he is safe in the United States? Is Dick Cheney part of the “surge” in Iraq, or does he have other priorities? Is Rice going to be leading troops on the ground now in Iraq?
Of all the hypocritical things to have ever come out of Rice’s mouth, this is Hall of Shame worthy.
Apr 21 2008
A few weeks ago Sadr called on his followers to lay down their weapons in an effort to negotiate with the Iraqi Government and U.S. Coalition. Here’s a snippet from Reuters:
In his statement, Sadr called for an end to “random arrests” of his followers and for them to benefit from an amnesty law passed by parliament in February aimed at freeing thousands of prisoners from Iraqi jails.
The government welcomed Sadr’s statement but said it would press on with its campaign for control over Basra, which is divided up among various militias and criminal gangs.
The U.S Government has pressed on with their incarceration campaign and it has led Sadr to threaten another uprising.
From Raw Story:
“I am giving my last warning and my word to the Iraqi government to take the path of peace and stop violence against its own people, otherwise it will be a government of destruction,” he said in a statement issued by his office in the holy city of Najaf.
What does the U.S have to say about Sadr’s demands for peace and an end to incarcerating his followers? Time to get nervous:
A top US general on Sunday warned that the military would strike back after hardline Iraqi Shiite leader Moqtada al-Sadr threatened to launch a new uprising by his militia.
“I hope Moqtada al-Sadr continues to depress violence and not encourage it,” said Major General Rick Lynch, commander of US forces in central Iraq.
Mar 25 2008
A few days ago we get this:
U.S. Wants British ‘Surge’ In S. Iraq: Paper
And why, because:
It quoted an unnamed senior U.S .military source saying: “Three big militias are currently engaged in a particularly bloody battle in southern Iraq.
Feb 23 2008
Series of rockets fired on Baghdad’s Green zone
Attacks come a day after al-Sadr orders extension of cease-fire
BAGHDAD – A series of rockets or mortars were fired toward the U.S.-protected Green Zone early Saturday, a day after radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered his Mahdi Army militia fighters to cease attacks for another six months.
Anybody want to guess who will be blamed for these?
Feb 20 2008
As bad as Iraq was and is, it soon could become worse than the very recent past nfew months and they haven’t been a sunday afternoon picnic!
markthshark posted this Diary last night: Moqtada al-Sadr Ends Four Month Pact with Rival Shi’ite Council.
Amazingly this Extremely Important bit of Reality made it up to the recommend list disappointing, I’ll bet, at least one diarist posting either a slam post against or a love thy one for the favorite candidate ‘Who’s Gonna Save The World’. Folks, just abit of another reality. Only You, together with many many many others can right the course of this Ship of State, but I degress.
Could the other shoe hit the floor in Iraq?
Dec 25 2007
I’ve written about the real War on Christmas- in Iraq. Well, the New York Times has this, today, from Baghdad:
Inside the beige church guarded by the men with the AK-47s, a choir sang Christmas songs in Arabic. An old woman in black closed her eyes while a girl in a cherry-red dress, with tights and shoes to match, craned her neck toward rows of empty pews near the back.
“Last year it was full,” said Yusef Hanna, a parishioner. “So many people have left – gone up north, or out of the country.”
In a safe neighborhood, in the midst of the relative calm of the current relative downturn in violence, this is still less than a Merry Christmas.
Iraq’s Christians have fared poorly since the fall of Saddam Hussein, with their houses or businesses frequently attacked. Some priests estimate that as much as two-thirds of the community, or about one million people, have fled, making Sacred Heart typical. Though a handful have recently returned from abroad, only 120 people attended Mass on Monday night, down from 400 two years ago.
But, of course, that was in a safe neighborhood. Elsewhere, the violence continues, irrespective of religion or season. The Washington Post reports:
Gunmen stopped a minibus driving north of Baghdad on Monday and abducted 13 Iraqi civilians inside, Iraqi police reported. The mass kidnapping was a renewed tactic that has grown increasingly rare as violence has ebbed in Iraq.
An ominous sign?
(more)