Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | US intelligence fears Iran duped hawks into Iraq war: "Julian Borger in Washington | Tuesday May 25, 2004 | The Guardian "
� Inquiry into Tehran's role in starting conflict
� Top Pentagon ally Chalabi accused
An urgent investigation has been launched in Washington into whether Iran played a role in manipulating the US into the Iraq war by passing on bogus intelligence through Ahmad Chalabi's Iraqi National Congress, it emerged yesterday.
Some intelligence officials now believe that Iran used the hawks in the Pentagon and the White House to get rid of a hostile neighbour, and pave the way for a Shia-ruled Iraq.
...
"It's pretty clear that Iranians had us for breakfast, lunch and dinner," said an intelligence source in Washington yesterday. "Iranian intelligence has been manipulating the US for several years through Chalabi."
Larry Johnson, a former senior counter-terrorist official at the state department, said: "When the story ultimately comes out we'll see that Iran has run one of the most masterful intelligence operations in history. They persuaded the US and Britain to dispose of its greatest enemy."
...
But Laurie Mylroie [Googled...Woolsey has long been close to Perle, who has his own network of neo-cons based at AEI, including Ledeen, Hillel Fradkin, Michael Rubin, Meyrav Wurmser and Laurie Mylroie, all of whom have been outspoken and influential hawks on Iraq. And all are Benador clients... ], a US Iraq analyst and one of the INC's most vocal backers in Washington, dismissed the allegations as the product of a grudge among CIA and state department officials driven by a pro-Sunni, anti-Shia bias. ...
Monday, May 24, 2004
Sunday, May 23, 2004
Amnesty International: Israeli War Crimes: "disproportionate and discriminatory restrictions and collective punishment..violate international law"
Ray Hanania: Israeli War Crimes: "May 19, 2004 | Israeli War Crimes | Who to Trust: AIPAC or Amnesty International? | By RAY HANANIA
In a speech recently, President Bush says Israel has a right to defend itself against terror but he made no mention of Israel's government's 'war crimes.'
Israel has a right to defend itself against terrorism, but does Israel's government have a right to kill innocent Palestinians?
Does Israel's government have a right to fabricate excuses that no one can confirm as reasons to ethnically cleanse areas of the occupied lands?
Does Israel's government have a right to steal lands, expel its Christian and Muslim Palestinian inhabitants and replace them with Jewish refugees who claim a 'right of return' that they deny to others?
Does Israel's government have a right to violate the Geneva Conventions, commit war crimes and literally impose a new form of Apartheid on the occupied population?
Bush was addressing AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Council), a foreign lobbying organization that has as much power in this country as the Electoral College."
...
Amnesty reports "Families are forcibly evicted from their homes, often at night, without prior warning. They are given only a few minutes to leave their home and are not allowed to salvage their possession. The unprecedented scale of destruction has resulted in widespread violations of the right to adequate housing and standard of living for tens of thousands of people and violates fundamental principles of international human rights and humanitarian law.
It goes on to say, "In the Occupied Territories, demolitions are often carried out as collective punishments for Palestinian attacks or to facilitate the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements. Both practices contravene international law and some of these acts are war crimes.
The report is devastating and labels the Wall as a violation, too.
Amnesty concludes "Israel's right to take reasonable, necessary and proportionate measures to protect the security of its citizens does not allow such disproportionate and discriminatory restrictions and collective punishment, which violate international law."
In a speech recently, President Bush says Israel has a right to defend itself against terror but he made no mention of Israel's government's 'war crimes.'
Israel has a right to defend itself against terrorism, but does Israel's government have a right to kill innocent Palestinians?
Does Israel's government have a right to fabricate excuses that no one can confirm as reasons to ethnically cleanse areas of the occupied lands?
Does Israel's government have a right to steal lands, expel its Christian and Muslim Palestinian inhabitants and replace them with Jewish refugees who claim a 'right of return' that they deny to others?
Does Israel's government have a right to violate the Geneva Conventions, commit war crimes and literally impose a new form of Apartheid on the occupied population?
Bush was addressing AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Council), a foreign lobbying organization that has as much power in this country as the Electoral College."
...
Amnesty reports "Families are forcibly evicted from their homes, often at night, without prior warning. They are given only a few minutes to leave their home and are not allowed to salvage their possession. The unprecedented scale of destruction has resulted in widespread violations of the right to adequate housing and standard of living for tens of thousands of people and violates fundamental principles of international human rights and humanitarian law.
It goes on to say, "In the Occupied Territories, demolitions are often carried out as collective punishments for Palestinian attacks or to facilitate the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements. Both practices contravene international law and some of these acts are war crimes.
The report is devastating and labels the Wall as a violation, too.
Amnesty concludes "Israel's right to take reasonable, necessary and proportionate measures to protect the security of its citizens does not allow such disproportionate and discriminatory restrictions and collective punishment, which violate international law."
Policy of Silence Amid Slaughter Moral Failure of the "Free World" in Gaza: 7,500 settlers, 1.3M in prison with barely enough water for drinking
Ghali Hassan: Moral Failure of the "Free World" in Gaza: "May 21, 2004 | By GHALI HASSAN
A Policy of Silence Amid Slaughter Moral Failure of the 'Free World' in Gaza
'Yes, they suffered the holocaust, and yes, they are the victims of anti-Semitism. But no, they cannot use those facts to continue, or initiate, the dispossession of another people that bears no responsibility for either of those prior facts' ... Edward Said (1)."
Fifty-six years passed since Palestinian lands were usurped and the ethnic cleansing of hundred of thousands of Palestinians began. Most of these Palestinians are now living in refugee camps scattered in neighbouring Arab countries. The Palestinians who stayed on their lands in Palestine are living in ghettos, and their lands constantly expropriated by the Israeli military.
Gaza is an extremely densely populated place. It is surrounded by barbed wires and security fence on three sides and the Mediterranean Sea on the fourth. Gaza is a large prison for most of the 1.3 million Palestinian refugees, ethnically cleansed by Jewish terrorists in 1948. Israel allows no industry to provide employment in Gaza. Over 60% of Gazans are unemployed. Very few Gazans have been able to obtain permits to leave in search of work. The majority (85%) of the Palestinian residents in Gaza live in poverty, and rely on aids to survive. According to many sources, including Amnesty International and independent NGO's, Gaza is on the brink of a humanitarian disaster.
No more than 7,500 armed Jewish settlers also live in Gaza and control over one third of the land, and they are well known for their violence against the Palestinians. The settlers live in big houses with green lawns and play grounds, and use most of the water available while Palestinians have barely enough water for drinking.
Gaza is regularly invaded by the Israeli Army (the IDF) and regularly bombed from the sky by Israeli Air Force to assassinate Palestinian politicians and innocent Palestinians children. The recent murder of Sheikh Yassin, the spiritual leader of Hamas, was an example. This criminal policy is condoned by the American Administration as "self-defence" against unarmed defenceless Palestinians. The U.S. is Israel's unquestioned backer and financier, and Israeli military is only comparable to the U.S. military. ...
A Policy of Silence Amid Slaughter Moral Failure of the 'Free World' in Gaza
'Yes, they suffered the holocaust, and yes, they are the victims of anti-Semitism. But no, they cannot use those facts to continue, or initiate, the dispossession of another people that bears no responsibility for either of those prior facts' ... Edward Said (1)."
Fifty-six years passed since Palestinian lands were usurped and the ethnic cleansing of hundred of thousands of Palestinians began. Most of these Palestinians are now living in refugee camps scattered in neighbouring Arab countries. The Palestinians who stayed on their lands in Palestine are living in ghettos, and their lands constantly expropriated by the Israeli military.
Gaza is an extremely densely populated place. It is surrounded by barbed wires and security fence on three sides and the Mediterranean Sea on the fourth. Gaza is a large prison for most of the 1.3 million Palestinian refugees, ethnically cleansed by Jewish terrorists in 1948. Israel allows no industry to provide employment in Gaza. Over 60% of Gazans are unemployed. Very few Gazans have been able to obtain permits to leave in search of work. The majority (85%) of the Palestinian residents in Gaza live in poverty, and rely on aids to survive. According to many sources, including Amnesty International and independent NGO's, Gaza is on the brink of a humanitarian disaster.
No more than 7,500 armed Jewish settlers also live in Gaza and control over one third of the land, and they are well known for their violence against the Palestinians. The settlers live in big houses with green lawns and play grounds, and use most of the water available while Palestinians have barely enough water for drinking.
Gaza is regularly invaded by the Israeli Army (the IDF) and regularly bombed from the sky by Israeli Air Force to assassinate Palestinian politicians and innocent Palestinians children. The recent murder of Sheikh Yassin, the spiritual leader of Hamas, was an example. This criminal policy is condoned by the American Administration as "self-defence" against unarmed defenceless Palestinians. The U.S. is Israel's unquestioned backer and financier, and Israeli military is only comparable to the U.S. military. ...
The Rape of Rafah: Reason: "thirst for revenge" ... dozens of Palestinians killed, thousands homeless
Uri Avnery: The Rape of Rafah: "May 22 / 23, 2004 | All This...for What? | By URI AVNERY
The immense might of the Israeli army, assembled from all over the country, has attacked a small Palestinian township on the margin of the destitute Gaza Strip. Palestinians, both fighters and civilians, are being killed by the dozen, homes are being destroyed wholesale, the sight of the fleeing population bring back memories of 1948.
All this--for what?
At first sight, the whole action is absurd. Ariel Sharon has proposed a unilateral withdrawal from all of the Gaza Strip, and his original plan included the evacuation of the 'Philadelphi Axis', a narrow buffer zone cutting Gaza off from Egypt. This means that he does not consider this entire territory necessary for the security of Israel. According to him, the Gaza Strip is a military and demographic burden, and the quicker we get out of it, the better.
...
The official purpose is to "destroy the tunnels" under the "Philadelphi Axis". But tunnels have been there for years. The army boasts of destroying 98 such tunnels in the past, but only one single tunnel has been discovered in this operation. It is clear that no military action will put an end to them. Even if the army destroys more and more Palestinian homes in order to widen the axis--the new tunnels will just be longer.
The tunnels are a pretext. So, what were the real reasons for this brutal invasion of a pitiful little town?
The first reason is the simplest: thirst for revenge. The army has suffered two painful blows, its commanders want to settle the account. Dozens of Palestinians are killed for 13 of our soldiers, hundreds of homes demolished for two destroyed personnel carriers. ...
...
Sharon is no Napoleon, whatever he might believe. He will leave Rafah as he entered it. Nothing will change. Except one thing: Rafah, like Jenin, will take its place in the national epic that will sustain generation of Palestinians to come.
The immense might of the Israeli army, assembled from all over the country, has attacked a small Palestinian township on the margin of the destitute Gaza Strip. Palestinians, both fighters and civilians, are being killed by the dozen, homes are being destroyed wholesale, the sight of the fleeing population bring back memories of 1948.
All this--for what?
At first sight, the whole action is absurd. Ariel Sharon has proposed a unilateral withdrawal from all of the Gaza Strip, and his original plan included the evacuation of the 'Philadelphi Axis', a narrow buffer zone cutting Gaza off from Egypt. This means that he does not consider this entire territory necessary for the security of Israel. According to him, the Gaza Strip is a military and demographic burden, and the quicker we get out of it, the better.
...
The official purpose is to "destroy the tunnels" under the "Philadelphi Axis". But tunnels have been there for years. The army boasts of destroying 98 such tunnels in the past, but only one single tunnel has been discovered in this operation. It is clear that no military action will put an end to them. Even if the army destroys more and more Palestinian homes in order to widen the axis--the new tunnels will just be longer.
The tunnels are a pretext. So, what were the real reasons for this brutal invasion of a pitiful little town?
The first reason is the simplest: thirst for revenge. The army has suffered two painful blows, its commanders want to settle the account. Dozens of Palestinians are killed for 13 of our soldiers, hundreds of homes demolished for two destroyed personnel carriers. ...
...
Sharon is no Napoleon, whatever he might believe. He will leave Rafah as he entered it. Nothing will change. Except one thing: Rafah, like Jenin, will take its place in the national epic that will sustain generation of Palestinians to come.
Systemic abuse and torture perpetrated by US guards against Iraqi women held in detention without charge
Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | The other prisoners: "Most of the coverage of abuse at Abu Ghraib has focused on male detainees. But what of the five women held in the jail, and the scores elsewhere in Iraq? Luke Harding reports | Thursday May 20, 2004 | The Guardian
The scandal at Abu Ghraib prison was first exposed not by a digital photograph but by a letter. In December 2003, a woman prisoner inside the jail west of Baghdad managed to smuggle out a note. Its contents were so shocking that, at first, Amal Kadham Swadi and the other Iraqi women lawyers who had been trying to gain access to the US jail found them hard to believe.
The note claimed that US guards had been raping women detainees, who were, and are, in a small minority at Abu Ghraib. Several of the women were now pregnant, it added. The women had been forced to strip naked in front of men, it said. The note urged the Iraqi resistance to bomb the jail to spare the women further shame.
Late last year, Swadi, one of seven female lawyers now representing women detainees in Abu Ghraib, began to piece together a picture of systemic abuse and torture perpetrated by US guards against Iraqi women held in detention without charge. This was not only true of Abu Ghraib, she discovered, but was, as she put it, 'happening all across Iraq'. "
The scandal at Abu Ghraib prison was first exposed not by a digital photograph but by a letter. In December 2003, a woman prisoner inside the jail west of Baghdad managed to smuggle out a note. Its contents were so shocking that, at first, Amal Kadham Swadi and the other Iraqi women lawyers who had been trying to gain access to the US jail found them hard to believe.
The note claimed that US guards had been raping women detainees, who were, and are, in a small minority at Abu Ghraib. Several of the women were now pregnant, it added. The women had been forced to strip naked in front of men, it said. The note urged the Iraqi resistance to bomb the jail to spare the women further shame.
Late last year, Swadi, one of seven female lawyers now representing women detainees in Abu Ghraib, began to piece together a picture of systemic abuse and torture perpetrated by US guards against Iraqi women held in detention without charge. This was not only true of Abu Ghraib, she discovered, but was, as she put it, 'happening all across Iraq'. "
Gen Zinni: previously accused of anti-Semitism: 'Neo-cons have Hijacked U.S. Foreign Policy': "they've screwed up, and whose heads are rolling?"
t r u t h o u t - General Zinni: 'Neo-cons have Hijacked U.S. Foreign Pollicy': "Gen. Zinni: 'They've Screwed Up' CBS News | Friday 21 May 2004
Accusing top Pentagon officials of 'dereliction of duty,' retired Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni says staying the course in Iraq isn't a reasonable option.
Zinni blames the poor planning on the civilian policymakers in the administration, known as neo-conservatives, who saw the invasion as a way to stabilize the region and support Israel. He believes these people, who include Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and Douglas Feith, the undersecretary of defense, have hijacked U.S. foreign policy.
"They promoted it and pushed [the war]... even to the point of creating their own intelligence to match their needs. Then they should bear the responsibility," Zinni tells Kroft.
...
Zinni feels that undertaking the war with the minimum of troops paved the way for the security problems the U.S. faces there now, the violence Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld recently admitted he hadn't anticipated.
"He should not have been surprised," says Zinni. "There were a number of people who before we even engaged in this conflict felt strongly that we underestimated...the scope of the problems we would have in [Iraq]."
The fact that no one in the administration has paid for the blunder irks Zinni. "But regardless of whose responsibility [it is]...it should be evident to everybody that they've screwed up, and whose heads are rolling on this?" ...
Accusing top Pentagon officials of 'dereliction of duty,' retired Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni says staying the course in Iraq isn't a reasonable option.
Zinni blames the poor planning on the civilian policymakers in the administration, known as neo-conservatives, who saw the invasion as a way to stabilize the region and support Israel. He believes these people, who include Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and Douglas Feith, the undersecretary of defense, have hijacked U.S. foreign policy.
"They promoted it and pushed [the war]... even to the point of creating their own intelligence to match their needs. Then they should bear the responsibility," Zinni tells Kroft.
...
Zinni feels that undertaking the war with the minimum of troops paved the way for the security problems the U.S. faces there now, the violence Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld recently admitted he hadn't anticipated.
"He should not have been surprised," says Zinni. "There were a number of people who before we even engaged in this conflict felt strongly that we underestimated...the scope of the problems we would have in [Iraq]."
The fact that no one in the administration has paid for the blunder irks Zinni. "But regardless of whose responsibility [it is]...it should be evident to everybody that they've screwed up, and whose heads are rolling on this?" ...
Ramadi: US plans attack Wedding: 45 dead, US General "no evidence of a wedding.. bad people have celebrations: ... BUT VIDEO SHOWS EVIDENCE
Excite News: "AP: Video Shows Iraq Wedding Celebration | May 23, 9:16 PM (ET) | By SCHEHEREZADE FARAMARZI
RAMADI, Iraq (AP) - A videotape obtained Sunday by Associated Press Television News captures a wedding party that survivors say was later attacked by U.S. planes early Wednesday, killing up to 45 people. The dead included the cameraman, Yasser Shawkat Abdullah, hired to record the festivities, which ended Tuesday night before the planes struck.
...
"There was no evidence of a wedding: no decorations, no musical instruments found, no large quantities of food or leftover servings one would expect from a wedding celebration," Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said Saturday. "There may have been some kind of celebration. Bad people have celebrations, too."
But video that APTN shot a day after the attack shows fragments of musical instruments, pots and pans and brightly colored beddings used for celebrations, scattered around the bombed out tent.
The wedding videotape shows a dozen white pickup trucks speeding through the desert escorting the bridal car - decorated with colorful ribbons. The bride wears a Western-style white bridal dress and veil. The camera captures her stepping out of the car but does not show a close-up.
An AP reporter and photographer, who interviewed more than a dozen survivors a day after the bombing, were able to identify many of them on the wedding party video - which runs for several hours. ...
...
Kimmitt said U.S. troops who swept through the area found rifles, machine guns, foreign passports, bedding, syringes and other items that suggested the site was used by foreigners infiltrating from Syria.
Kimmitt has denied finding evidence that any children died in the raid although a "handful of women" - perhaps four to six - were "caught up in the engagement."
"They may have died from some of the fire that came from the aircraft," he told reporters Friday.
However, an AP reporter obtained names of at least 10 children who relatives said had died. Bodies of five of them were filmed by APTN when the survivors took them to Ramadi for burial Wednesday. Iraqi officials said at least 13 children were killed.
Four days after the attack, the memories of the survivors remain painful - as are their injuries.
Haleema Shihab, 32, one of the three wives of Rikad Nayef, said that as the first bombs fell, she grabbed her seven-month old son, Yousef, and clutching the hands of her five-year-old son, Hamza, started running. Her 15-year-old son, Ali, sprinted alongside her. They managed to run for several yards when she fell - her leg fractured. ...
RAMADI, Iraq (AP) - A videotape obtained Sunday by Associated Press Television News captures a wedding party that survivors say was later attacked by U.S. planes early Wednesday, killing up to 45 people. The dead included the cameraman, Yasser Shawkat Abdullah, hired to record the festivities, which ended Tuesday night before the planes struck.
...
"There was no evidence of a wedding: no decorations, no musical instruments found, no large quantities of food or leftover servings one would expect from a wedding celebration," Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said Saturday. "There may have been some kind of celebration. Bad people have celebrations, too."
But video that APTN shot a day after the attack shows fragments of musical instruments, pots and pans and brightly colored beddings used for celebrations, scattered around the bombed out tent.
The wedding videotape shows a dozen white pickup trucks speeding through the desert escorting the bridal car - decorated with colorful ribbons. The bride wears a Western-style white bridal dress and veil. The camera captures her stepping out of the car but does not show a close-up.
An AP reporter and photographer, who interviewed more than a dozen survivors a day after the bombing, were able to identify many of them on the wedding party video - which runs for several hours. ...
...
Kimmitt said U.S. troops who swept through the area found rifles, machine guns, foreign passports, bedding, syringes and other items that suggested the site was used by foreigners infiltrating from Syria.
Kimmitt has denied finding evidence that any children died in the raid although a "handful of women" - perhaps four to six - were "caught up in the engagement."
"They may have died from some of the fire that came from the aircraft," he told reporters Friday.
However, an AP reporter obtained names of at least 10 children who relatives said had died. Bodies of five of them were filmed by APTN when the survivors took them to Ramadi for burial Wednesday. Iraqi officials said at least 13 children were killed.
Four days after the attack, the memories of the survivors remain painful - as are their injuries.
Haleema Shihab, 32, one of the three wives of Rikad Nayef, said that as the first bombs fell, she grabbed her seven-month old son, Yousef, and clutching the hands of her five-year-old son, Hamza, started running. Her 15-year-old son, Ali, sprinted alongside her. They managed to run for several yards when she fell - her leg fractured. ...
Israeli minister: [Gaza actions and 40 dead] brought back memories of his family's suffering: demolishing some 2,000 more homes - "makes me sick,"
Excite News: "Israeli Minister Says Home Demolitions E | Email this Story | May 23, 9:11 PM (ET) | By JOSEF FEDERMAN
JERUSALEM (AP) - Causing an uproar, an Israeli Cabinet minister and Holocaust survivor said Sunday that Israel's offensive in a Gaza refugee camp - including TV images of displaced Palestinians searching the rubble for their meager belongings - brought back memories of his family's suffering.
The comments by Justice Minister Yosef Lapid reflected a growing debate in Israel over the justification for a campaign that has left 41 Palestinians dead, turned dozens of homes to dust, drawn international condemnation and yielded just one arms-smuggling tunnel.
...
Lapid's criticism went well beyond the television images. The army's plan to widen the patrol road - even at the cost of demolishing some 2,000 more homes - "makes me sick," Lapid said, adding that the international community will never let Israel carry out such an operation. "We look like monsters in the eyes of the world," he said.
...
Some analysts said a key motive was revenge; thirteen soldiers have been killed in recent fighting in Gaza. "The desire to take revenge, to settle a score with the adversary ... became the excuse for a broad military operation," wrote Alex Fishman in Friday's Yediot Ahronot daily.
JERUSALEM (AP) - Causing an uproar, an Israeli Cabinet minister and Holocaust survivor said Sunday that Israel's offensive in a Gaza refugee camp - including TV images of displaced Palestinians searching the rubble for their meager belongings - brought back memories of his family's suffering.
The comments by Justice Minister Yosef Lapid reflected a growing debate in Israel over the justification for a campaign that has left 41 Palestinians dead, turned dozens of homes to dust, drawn international condemnation and yielded just one arms-smuggling tunnel.
...
Lapid's criticism went well beyond the television images. The army's plan to widen the patrol road - even at the cost of demolishing some 2,000 more homes - "makes me sick," Lapid said, adding that the international community will never let Israel carry out such an operation. "We look like monsters in the eyes of the world," he said.
...
Some analysts said a key motive was revenge; thirteen soldiers have been killed in recent fighting in Gaza. "The desire to take revenge, to settle a score with the adversary ... became the excuse for a broad military operation," wrote Alex Fishman in Friday's Yediot Ahronot daily.
Friday, May 21, 2004
8 more possible homicides to follow 2 earlier in Iraq and Afghanistan
Excite - News: "U.S. Probes 8 More Iraq, Afghan Prisoner Homicides | May 21, 7:17 pm ET | By Will Dunham
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. military, embroiled in a scandal over abuse of Iraqi prisoners, is investigating as homicides the deaths of eight more detainees -- including one of Saddam Hussein's top generals -- held by American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Pentagon said on Friday
The Justice Department also said it had opened its first criminal investigation into a civilian contractor in Iraq over possible mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners, but declined to give details about the nature of the suspected wrongdoing.
A senior military official, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity, said the U.S. Army has investigated 32 deaths of prisoners in Iraq and another five deaths of prisoners in Afghanistan since August 2002.
The military official said eight prisoner deaths under investigation have been 'classified by medical authorities as homicides, which involve suspected assaults of detainees either before or during interrogation sessions that may have led to the detainees' death.'
The eight new cases are in addition to two deaths previously investigated by the Army and declared homicides. ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. military, embroiled in a scandal over abuse of Iraqi prisoners, is investigating as homicides the deaths of eight more detainees -- including one of Saddam Hussein's top generals -- held by American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Pentagon said on Friday
The Justice Department also said it had opened its first criminal investigation into a civilian contractor in Iraq over possible mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners, but declined to give details about the nature of the suspected wrongdoing.
A senior military official, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity, said the U.S. Army has investigated 32 deaths of prisoners in Iraq and another five deaths of prisoners in Afghanistan since August 2002.
The military official said eight prisoner deaths under investigation have been 'classified by medical authorities as homicides, which involve suspected assaults of detainees either before or during interrogation sessions that may have led to the detainees' death.'
The eight new cases are in addition to two deaths previously investigated by the Army and declared homicides. ...
Wednesday, May 19, 2004
Rafah: Israeli tanks shell crowd of protesters: 10 Pal dead, 50 wounded, 36 dritically, mostly youngsters
Excite News: "Israeli Shells Kill at Least 10 in Gaza | May 19, 6:10 PM (ET) | By KHALIL HAMRA
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) - Israeli forces fired a missile and a barrage of tank shells to hold back a crowd of Palestinians protesting military operations in Gaza on Wednesday, killing at least 10, including children and teens. Overwhelmed doctors treated some of the dozens of wounded on blood-drenched hospital floors.
White smoke rose into the air as Palestinians carried the wounded - including children with bloodied faces - from the scene. Some were evacuated to the hospital in donkey carts, witnesses said.
"I could see the tank, first it fired a tank shell, it landed next to an electricity pole," said Hisham Ashour, 45, who was near the front of the crowd. "We immediately started picking up the wounded who had collapsed to the ground. Many of them were kids."
...
Dr. Moawiya Hassanain, a Palestinian Health Ministry official, said at least 10 people were killed and 50 wounded, 36 of them critically. Among six of the dead identified by Wednesday evening, four were children, ranging in age from 9 to 14. The two others were 17 and 20. Most of the wounded were youngsters.
The stairs and floors at the Rafah hospital were drenched in blood as doctors shouted for help and blood donations. Hospital staff treated the wounded on the floors after quickly running out of beds.
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) - Israeli forces fired a missile and a barrage of tank shells to hold back a crowd of Palestinians protesting military operations in Gaza on Wednesday, killing at least 10, including children and teens. Overwhelmed doctors treated some of the dozens of wounded on blood-drenched hospital floors.
White smoke rose into the air as Palestinians carried the wounded - including children with bloodied faces - from the scene. Some were evacuated to the hospital in donkey carts, witnesses said.
"I could see the tank, first it fired a tank shell, it landed next to an electricity pole," said Hisham Ashour, 45, who was near the front of the crowd. "We immediately started picking up the wounded who had collapsed to the ground. Many of them were kids."
...
Dr. Moawiya Hassanain, a Palestinian Health Ministry official, said at least 10 people were killed and 50 wounded, 36 of them critically. Among six of the dead identified by Wednesday evening, four were children, ranging in age from 9 to 14. The two others were 17 and 20. Most of the wounded were youngsters.
The stairs and floors at the Rafah hospital were drenched in blood as doctors shouted for help and blood donations. Hospital staff treated the wounded on the floors after quickly running out of beds.
Monday, May 17, 2004
As many as 22,000 Iraq, Afghan war veterans already seek care from VA system
Veterans for Common Sense - News Article: "As many as 22,000 Iraq, Afghan war veterans already seek care from VA system | Larry Margasak - AP | Boston Globe | Posted 5/16/2004 7:13:00 PM
The U.S. casualties from the failed war in Iraq continue to mount: the news article below claims as many as 22,000 veterans from Iraq or Afghanistan were wounded, injured, or ill enough from their war service to seek medical care from the Department of Veterans Affairs. What this article doesn't mention are the 4,500 Iraq and Aghanistan war veterans who have sought readjustment assistanct from VA's 'Vet Centers.' That could bring the total to more than 26,000 casualties.
The U.S. casualties from the failed war in Iraq continue to mount: the news article below claims as many as 22,000 veterans from Iraq or Afghanistan were wounded, injured, or ill enough from their war service to seek medical care from the Department of Veterans Affairs. What this article doesn't mention are the 4,500 Iraq and Aghanistan war veterans who have sought readjustment assistanct from VA's 'Vet Centers.' That could bring the total to more than 26,000 casualties.
Anger and the rage against US: 'perception is that the United States is not fair and balanced ... on Israeli-Palestinian problem'
Jordan's king worries about decline in US world stature: "Monday May 17, 2:36 AM
Jordan's King Abdullah II told US television that he worried about the impact of a decline in US stature around the world, particularly in the Middle East.
'This is a tremendous concern for all of us,' he told ABC television's 'This Week' program.
'I'm a close friend of the United States, and I was educated in America,' he said. 'To feel the anger and the rage that I see in the Middle East towards the United States really sort of frustrates and worries me tremendously.'
He added: 'I feel it in other parts of the world too, and it's something that I hope that can be addressed as quickly as possible.'
'The perception is that the United States is not fair and balanced on the core issue in the Middle East, which is the Israeli-Palestinian problem,' Abdullah continued.
'Then you compound that with Iraq, so you get, unfortunately, the visions of Israeli tanks with Palestinians and American tanks with Iraqis,' said Abdullah."
Jordan's King Abdullah II told US television that he worried about the impact of a decline in US stature around the world, particularly in the Middle East.
'This is a tremendous concern for all of us,' he told ABC television's 'This Week' program.
'I'm a close friend of the United States, and I was educated in America,' he said. 'To feel the anger and the rage that I see in the Middle East towards the United States really sort of frustrates and worries me tremendously.'
He added: 'I feel it in other parts of the world too, and it's something that I hope that can be addressed as quickly as possible.'
'The perception is that the United States is not fair and balanced on the core issue in the Middle East, which is the Israeli-Palestinian problem,' Abdullah continued.
'Then you compound that with Iraq, so you get, unfortunately, the visions of Israeli tanks with Palestinians and American tanks with Iraqis,' said Abdullah."
US guards 'filmed beatings' at terror camp [Guantanamo Bay in Cuba]
The Observer | Special reports | US guards 'filmed beatings' at terror camp: "Senator urges action as Briton reveals Guantanamo abuse | David Rose and Gaby Hinsliff | Sunday May 16, 2004 | The Observer
Dozens of videotapes of American guards allegedly engaged in brutal attacks on Guantanamo Bay detainees have been stored and catalogued at the camp, an investigation by The Observer has revealed.
The disclosures, made in an interview with Tarek Dergoul, the fifth British prisoner freed last March, who has been too traumatised to speak until now, prompted demands last night by senior politicians on both sides of the Atlantic to make the videos available immediately.
They say that if the contents are as shocking as Dergoul claims, they will provide final proof that brutality against detainees has become an institutionalised feature of America's war on terror. "
Dozens of videotapes of American guards allegedly engaged in brutal attacks on Guantanamo Bay detainees have been stored and catalogued at the camp, an investigation by The Observer has revealed.
The disclosures, made in an interview with Tarek Dergoul, the fifth British prisoner freed last March, who has been too traumatised to speak until now, prompted demands last night by senior politicians on both sides of the Atlantic to make the videos available immediately.
They say that if the contents are as shocking as Dergoul claims, they will provide final proof that brutality against detainees has become an institutionalised feature of America's war on terror. "
Should Bush Ask Pope's Pardon for Iraq War? {...isolated world leader ... or widespread opinion?]
Excite - News: "Should Bush Ask Pope's Pardon for Iraq War? | May 17, 11:27 am ET
CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - President Bush should kneel before Pope John Paul and ask for forgiveness for abuses committed by U.S. soldiers in Iraq, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says.
In his latest jibe against the U.S. leader, the outspoken left-wing Venezuelan president urged Bush to use his planned visit to the Vatican on June 4 to announce the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.
'Even though he's not a Catholic ... he should ask God's forgiveness at the Vatican ... go down on his knees in front of the Pope and ask for the forgiveness of the world, not just the Iraqi people,' Chavez told a news conference Friday in Caracas."
CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - President Bush should kneel before Pope John Paul and ask for forgiveness for abuses committed by U.S. soldiers in Iraq, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says.
In his latest jibe against the U.S. leader, the outspoken left-wing Venezuelan president urged Bush to use his planned visit to the Vatican on June 4 to announce the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.
'Even though he's not a Catholic ... he should ask God's forgiveness at the Vatican ... go down on his knees in front of the Pope and ask for the forgiveness of the world, not just the Iraqi people,' Chavez told a news conference Friday in Caracas."
Thursday, May 13, 2004
Rumsfeld is "detested" [within the military], "Support Our Troops, Impeach Rumsfeld"
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | America's military coup: "Donald Rumsfeld has a new war on his hands - the US officer corps has turned on the government | Sidney Blumenthal | Thursday May 13, 2004 | The Guardian
...
William Odom, a retired general and former member of the National Security Council who is now at the Hudson Institute, a conservative thinktank, reflects a wide swath of opinion in the upper ranks of the military. "It was never in our interest to go into Iraq," he told me. It is a "diversion" from the war on terrorism; the rationale for the Iraq war (finding WMD) is "phoney"; the US army is overstretched and being driven "into the ground"; and the prospect of building a democracy is "zero". In Iraqi politics, he says, "legitimacy is going to be tied to expelling us. Wisdom in military affairs dictates withdrawal in this situation. We can't afford to fail, that's mindless. The issue is how we stop failing more. I am arguing a strategic decision."
One high-level military strategist told me that Rumsfeld is "detested", and that "if there's a sentiment in the army it is: Support Our Troops, Impeach Rumsfeld".
...
William Odom, a retired general and former member of the National Security Council who is now at the Hudson Institute, a conservative thinktank, reflects a wide swath of opinion in the upper ranks of the military. "It was never in our interest to go into Iraq," he told me. It is a "diversion" from the war on terrorism; the rationale for the Iraq war (finding WMD) is "phoney"; the US army is overstretched and being driven "into the ground"; and the prospect of building a democracy is "zero". In Iraqi politics, he says, "legitimacy is going to be tied to expelling us. Wisdom in military affairs dictates withdrawal in this situation. We can't afford to fail, that's mindless. The issue is how we stop failing more. I am arguing a strategic decision."
One high-level military strategist told me that Rumsfeld is "detested", and that "if there's a sentiment in the army it is: Support Our Troops, Impeach Rumsfeld".
The New York Times > International > Middle East > Interrogation
The New York Times > International > Middle East > Interrogation Methods Violated Geneva Rules, General Says: "By BRIAN KNOWLTON | International Herald Tribune | Published: May 13, 2004
ASHINGTON, May 13 � A top general acknowledged today, in a long and often angry WSenate hearing, that interrogation techniques used by American guards in an Iraq prison violated the Geneva Conventions, and he said he did not know who had approved them.
The remark by Gen. Peter Pace, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, appeared to place him in direct contradiction to a comment a day earlier by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, who has insisted that approved procedures called for humane treatment under recognized international standards.
...
Precisely that sort of treatment, Mr. Reed said, had been authorized by Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, commander of the ground forces in Iraq.
General Pace said he was unaware of any military guidelines that would have allowed prisoners to be put in stressful positions, deprived of sleep for up to 72 hours, threatened with dogs or kept in isolation for more than 30 days. ...
ASHINGTON, May 13 � A top general acknowledged today, in a long and often angry WSenate hearing, that interrogation techniques used by American guards in an Iraq prison violated the Geneva Conventions, and he said he did not know who had approved them.
The remark by Gen. Peter Pace, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, appeared to place him in direct contradiction to a comment a day earlier by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, who has insisted that approved procedures called for humane treatment under recognized international standards.
...
Precisely that sort of treatment, Mr. Reed said, had been authorized by Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, commander of the ground forces in Iraq.
General Pace said he was unaware of any military guidelines that would have allowed prisoners to be put in stressful positions, deprived of sleep for up to 72 hours, threatened with dogs or kept in isolation for more than 30 days. ...