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March 29 2009 Sons of Iraq battle Maliki's & U.S. forces in Fadel

The now unpaid Sahwa, called Sons of Iraq (SOI) by U.S. troops, are putting up a fight in Baghdad. Maliki's army with U.S. troop support closed off Baghdad's Fadel neighborhood and arrested SOI's Mashhadani and Salman Kadduri over allegations of murder and extortion.

The Sahwa were trained and equipped by Americans and did a good job of combatting Al-Qaeda. Now that the U.S. has stopped paying them, and Maliki's government has reneged on its promise to employ them, the Sahwa are increasingly unhappy with their plight. Many of them view police operations against them as unfair hunting for thier Sunni scalps.

Fadel has become an open battleground in the last two days, and gunfire continued today. You can read more about this from AlAribiya.

The mood is tense. Loudspeakers warned the fighters in Fadel to put down their weapons. "Anyone who still holds weapons after this deadline will be considered a terrorist," the message said. In this atmosphere it is easy to see that civilians will once again be caught in a violent cycle.

from AlTharwa:

For the past five years or so, Iraq was always in the headlines. In the past few months, the plight of the country is mentioned less-and-less. President Obama has told us all that Afghanistan is the number one threat to the U.S.

Pundit-after-pundit has hailed the diminishing violence in Iraq. There is a Santa Claus. Iraq is now peaceful and the Iraqi people are free. This newly-assessed theory about Iraq is false. There is still much violence, only the players may have changed. Many U.S. forces stick close-by their barracks as the new Iraqi police and military forces take over security. There has been a recent increase in resistance attacks that has devastated some Iraqi police forces and military personnel. We are not reading about this in the West. Plus, electricity and clean water supplies are just as minuscule as they were after the March 2003 invasion.

[full article]

Mar 27 2009 Iraqi 'insurgents' target civilians

It's no secret now. We have delivered to Iraq a long, sad tale of ongoing misery. We have taken from the Iraqi people much of their hope. There is a new myth of an old time in which students could go to school, study hard, and dream of a future. The voices of the young are silenced now. Not by restrictions imposed by an evil regime, and not by a lack of opportunity to speak.

The voices of the young are being slowly strangled by hopelessness. Why speak when no one will listen.

Over one hundred people died in Baghdad so far this month from street bombings. The number of widows and orphans grows. Hundreds are wounded. Thousands driven deeper into the trauma of prolonged exposure to violence.

Are you listening?

You can help. Write to mail@121Contact.org and we'll let you know how you can alleviate the pain of the innocent Iraqis who continue to suffer the consequences of our invasion and occupation of their beloved Iraq.

In loving kindness,
Bruce and Noor
 

Story of ongoing pain

    Aden Street, one of the main streets in Shaab neighborhood. The car bomb was parked near a small carpet shop. People who were close to the explosion were burned to death.

"I just can not understand why the insurgents target the civilians. They are not security forces like us. They don't cause any harm to anyone. They just want to live"

        With these words and with a strong will to control the tears, the policeman who escorted me to the scene of yesterday's explosion started the conversation. I couldn't give him any answer because the same question troubles my mind. The blast killed at least 16 people and wounded some 45. The death toll likely rose today.

        I walked slowly down the street which was, until the explosion a lively street filled with men, women and children. I saw some of them but they were still under the effect of the explosion. Their faces tell the story of ongoing pain and suffering of Iraqis.

        I took many photos of the place. I chose seven of them to tell the story of the ongoing pain.

[full story from McClatchy Washington Bureau]

March 26 2009 Iraqi dreams: Gone with the wind

As Iraq becomes 'old news' it gets harder and harder to find the truth of the consequences of our decisions to invade Iraq. Not all Iraqis feels we did a bad thing. Some think we did a horrible thing. All Iraqis are caught in the storm of violence we unleashed. The answers lie not in more violent responses, but rather in helping the Iraqi people recover what they once had. And that will come from aid in the form of economic help, not more bullets and bombs.

If we took all the money we have spent on the invasion and occupation of Iraq we could have given each Iraqi man, woman, and child some $250,00US. We could have really helped instead of really destroying an entire nation's culture, stability, and hope.



It's not too late to shift from violence to compassionate aid. It's not too late to drastically alter our military plans in Afghanistan and Pakistan. We can use our vast resources of intelligence, creativity, and (even in these hard economic times) wealth for building and not for destroying.

[You can click on the blue links to read the full stories excerpted below.]

GONE WITH THE WIND from McClatchy blog.

            Dreams are one way for man to improve his or her life. The biggest achievements started with dreams. The happiest moment for us is when our dreams come true.       

           One of my dreams was to see more than one party in Iraq and not to hear about people killed for political reasons as Baath Party used to do for about 35 years.

           Before 1979, Iraq was one of the best Arabic countries, people used to live a very good life. We used to have the best goods, the best factories and the best services but with the coming of Saddam to the presidency chair in 1979, everything changed. The man started his political life with an aimless war with Iran that brought nothing to Iraq but death and destruction. The war lasted eight years and Iraq lost about million men. We also missed...

Reported Security incidents: from War News Today March 24, 2009

Baghdad:
#1: Iraqi officials say a car bombing in a mainly Shiite area of Baghdad has killed at least 14 people and wounded more than two dozen. Police and hospital officials say the explosives-laden car was parked near a bus terminal surrounded by shops in the Shaab district when it blew up shortly after noon. The officials say the 14 dead included four children and three women. Another official, in the Interior Ministry, gave a slightly different casualty toll, saying 16 people were killed and 35 wounded.

#2: On Wednesday evening, an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated on Omar Ibn Abdelaziz street in Baghdad’s northern area of Adhamiya, wounding four civilians,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

A roadside bomb wounded four civilians on Wednesday when it went off near a U.S. military patrol in Baghdad's northern Adhamiya district, police said.

#3: Another device exploded in al-Qahera neighborhood, northeastern Baghdad, wounding four others,” the source added.

A roadside bomb wounded five civilians on Wednesday when it exploded near a U.S. military patrol in Qahira district, northern Baghdad, police said.

#4: A blast killed two people and wounded four in northern Baghdad's Shaab district, police said. They did not know the cause of the blast and said the death toll may rise.

#5: A bomb attached to the car of Qais Safaa, secretary to justice minister, seriously wounded him on Wednesday in Haifa Street, central Baghdad, police said. Another passenger and two passers-by were also wounded in the blast.

Riyadh:
#1: An Iraqi army soldier was wounded in an armed attack in the southwest of Kirkuk, a source from the joint coordination center in Kirkuk said on Thursday. “Unknown gunmen shot and injured a solider from the 12th division of the Iraqi army on Thursday morning (Mar. 26) in Riyadh district in the southwest of Kirkuk while on duty,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

Al Rashad:
#1: Three electricity workers were wounded Thursday in a bomb blast in southwest of Kirkuk, the local police chief said. “An improvised explosive device went off near the electricity department’s workers in al-Rashad district, southwest of Kirkuk, injuring three workers who were rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment,” Brig. Sarhad Qader told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

Kirkuk:
#1: Gunmen attempted to kidnap one of the body guards of the President of the Criminal Court in Kirkuk, Thursday morning. And during the ensuing hand fight, people started to gather and the gunmen fled leaving the body guard, Murad Fikret with superficial injuries.

Mosul:
#1: Gunmen attacked and killed a store owner in his store in Faisaliyah neighbourhood, central Mosul at 11.30 a.m. Thursday.

March 26 2009 Voices of Iraqi Women

Iraq will never be healed until its women gain equality and regain the dignity robbed from them by, among other things, the U.S. occupation. Iraqi women have been set back some 50 years or so and have lost much in these last 6 years.



This is from Layla, a wonderful voice that I just discovered. If you've never read her blog, ArabWomanBlues, now is as good a time as ever...Here's an excerpt:

I feel so tired...but I wanted to get this post out, today, in particular today -- the 21st of March.

Why ? Because today, in Iraq and the rest of the Arab world, the 21st of March is Mother's Day. This date also happens to be the first day of Spring, also called Nawroz or the New Year as per the Zoroastrian tradition.

In Iran for instance, they give 15 days of holidays on this occasion...and only one day for the Islamic Eid...makes one wonders how Islamic the Iranian Republic really is. But that is not really what I wanted to write about.

I just find the dates to be too "coincidental". Take for instance the brutal invasion and occupation of our Beloved Motherland. It took place right on the first day of Spring - the New Year as they call it. And today, Obama has offered an olive branch to Iran, its collaborator - its collaborator in the destruction of our Motherland. Coincidences eh ?

Tomorrow in Iraq...[continue reading ArabWomanBlues]

Mar 23 2009 Iraq erupts in violence

There is little to say here. The students are traumatized again.

I remember this, with great sadness also:
Contrary to how President George W. Bush has tried to justify the Iraq war in the past, he has now . . . admitted that the invasion and occupation of Iraq was aimed primarily at seizing predominant influence over its oil by establishing permanent . . . military bases. He made this transparently clear by adding a signing statement to the defense appropriation bill, indicating that he would not be bound by the law’s prohibition against expending funds: “(1) To establish any military installation or base for the purpose of providing for the permanent stationing of United States Armed Forces in Iraq,” or “(2) To exercise United States control of the oil resources of Iraq.” -- Ray McGovern

Reported Security incidents:

Baghdad:
#1: A bomb attached to a car wounded four people late on Sunday, including a Displacement and Migration Ministry official and a Danish woman who was with the official in his vehicle, police said, adding that two policemen were also wounded. It was unclear what the Danish woman was doing in Iraq.

#2: Seven people were injured including two national police members when a roadside bomb detonated in Doura neighborhood in south Baghdad on Monday evening.

Diyala Prv:
Jalawla:
#1: At least 25 people were killed and 45 were injured when a man walked into a tent of mourners and detonated himself in a town north of Baghdad on Monday evening. The death toll was expected to rise, hospital officials said. The man being mourned in Jalawla, about 60 miles from Baquba, was Kurdish, and officials suspected that the attacker was an Arab. Kurds consider Jalawla, a town of both Arabs and Kurds, a part of greater Kurdistan. The land is contested, and tensions run high between the two ethnic groups.

Hilla:
#1: An Iraqi tribal leader escaped an assassination attempt Sunday when gunmen attacked his house in the city of Hillah, Iraq security sources said. Sheikh Fawaz Kamel Ahmed, leader of the al-Massoud tribe, was injured in the attack on his house in Hillah, 100 kilometres south of Baghdad.

Abu Ghraib:
#1: Five people were killed and 12 others injured in a bomb explosion in the outskirts of Baghdad on Monday, an Interior Ministry source said. The blast took place near a car repair workshop in the Abu Ghraib area, some 15 km west of Baghdad, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. Many people were gathering outside a garage to have their cars repaired when the explosion occurred, the source said.

A source in Abu Ghraib hospital said they had received eight bodies from the blast and treated nine people for wounds so far.

Mosul:
#1: A suicide bomber blew himself up near a police patrol, seriously wounding four policemen including a lieutenant colonel in western Mosul 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

#2: A roadside bomb targeting a police patrol wounded two civilians, police said.

Two civilians were killed by a roadside bomb that targeted their car in Wadi hajar area south of Mosul city on Monday afternoon.

#3: Four civilians and two policemen were injured when a suicide bomber detonated in Bab al Bedh area in downtown Mosul on Monday afternoon.

Tal Afar:
#1: A policeman was killed and five civilians were injured when a suicide bomber detonated the policeman in Tal Afar town west of Mosul on Monday afternoon.

Al Anbar Prv:
Fallujah:
#1: In separate news, two US soldiers were injured late Saturday when their vehicle was caught in a bomb attack near al-Fallujah, which lies about 70 kilometres west of Baghdad in Anbar province.

#2: In Falluja, a roadside bomb went off on Monday targeting the house of Sheikh Imad al-Halbosi, a senior Sahwa (Awakening) figure, killing eight civilians including two kids, and wounding nine others.

Mar 20 2009 Iraq burns and the U.S. Flag burns, too

 The anniversary of our invasion of Iraq is celebrated in various ways. Supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr generated demonstration in 6 cities [Baghdad, Basra, Kut, Diwaniyah, Amarah and Nasiriyah] as roadside bombs, assassins, and suicide killers continued to take their toll.

Baghdad neighborhoods are still mostly controlled by militias, Sunni or Shi'a. The neighborhoods are cleansed of one side or the other. The women are covered, even the Christians, to avoid punishment ranging up to death from the extremists in control.

Most neighborhoods have water and electricity in unpredictable doles of two or three hours. Six years after the U.S. invaded Iraq, 36 percent of Baghdad's drinking water is unsafe, according to the Iraqi Environment Ministry - in a good month. In a bad month, it's 90 percent. Cholera broke out last summer, and officials fear another outbreak this year. Ihsan Jaafar, Iraq's director of public health, said the water has been bad for years but that it now carries cholera, typhoid, dysentery, hepatitis and other diseases.

The 125,00 widows receiving government aid have just had their allotments cut to about $50/month. It takes about $200 to feed a family of four. [the other 550,000 widows receive no government aid at all]. Cloaked in black abayas, they wade through columns of cars idling at security checkpoints, asking for money or food. They wait in line outside mosques for free blankets, or sift through mounds of garbage piled along the street. Some live with their children in public parks or inside gas station restrooms.

Other war widows have become prostitutes, and some have joined the insurgency in exchange for steady pay. The Iraqi military estimates that the number of widows who have become suicide bombers may be in the dozens.

The 'settlements' that 'house' the displace have become recruiting grounds for militant militias.

6 long years.

Longer than you can imagine, if you are not trapped in the hell we created in Iraq.

Have you helped an innocent Iraqi civilian today? Why not?

write mail@121Contact.org and find out how you can help. Today.

In loving kindness,
Bruce and Noor

Mar 20 2009 Remember Iraq-6 years and still dying

As we contemplate a surge of violence in Afghanistan and Pakistan,
As we see Iraq becoming 'yesterdays news', no longer covered in our media,
As we see the innocent civilians of Iraq continue to pay the terrible price of trauma from prolonged exposure to violence,
We urge you to act.
To call and write your representatives,
To march in protest of the ongoing madness of the U.S. occupation of Iraq.

In loving kindness,
bruce and noor

from a UFPJ letter:

Six years ago today, the Bush administration launched its 'Shock and Awe' assault on Iraq, thus beginning what has turned into one of the longest and most costly military engagements in U.S. history.

We know what the war and occupation in Iraq has cost: more than one million Iraqis killed; five million Iraqis displaced from their homes; over 4,000 U.S. service people killed and tens of thousands wounded; more than $600 billion of our tax dollars spent; one of the oldest civilizations on earth brought to ruins. Six long years of a war that never should have happened, a war based on lies and corporate greed. It is enough -- it is too much.

Today, our hearts are heavy as we remember all who have died and suffered. ...For several years now, the majority of the people of this country have said they want the war to end and for the troops to be brought home.

Today, on this most solemn of days, we invite you to join us in an important mobilization United For Peace and Justice is organizing in New York City on April 4. That day is another anniversary: in 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, TN.
On Saturday, April 4, we will take our demand to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to Wall Street.
 

·  Most importantly, we need your help getting the word out! We have leaflets you can download from our website to copy and then distribute in your area.

·  We have a ride board on our website where you can both post transportation opportunities you are organizing, as well as look for rides you can join.

·  Your group can add your name to the growing list of endorsing groups, just click here.

·  And you can send a much-needed donation to help make sure we can cover all of the expenses related to this effort.

P.S. Please click here to take a look at UFPJ's 6th Anniversary Statement released to the press this morning.

Mar 19 2009 Lees-McRae College visits St. Paul/St.Andrews Church

We had a wonderful opportunity to speak to visiting students from Lees-McRae College in North Carolina. Thanks to Amanda Elliot, Youth  Pastor, and Charlie, the tour chaperon, a group of students heard the words of Iraqi students and teachers. They came to New York on a 'service trip'; an alternative Spring Break in which no one was required to drink 'till they puked and all were happy to help out at the food bank of the church.

       

Hosted by St. Paul/St.Andrews Church,86th Street off B'way in Manhattan, the students had just returned from a tour of Ground Zero. They heard from us of the wonderful work of September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, and its many offshoots of peace work grown out of the pain and anger of 9/11 family members who have made the conscious decision to turn feelings into actions for peace.

We'll be speaking in the next few weeks at Manhattan's John Jay college of Criminal Justice and NYU.

[Yo! Iraqi students: keep sending your words to us and we will read them to the students at these events. Speak your mind. Tell them of your feeling about the invasion and occupation. They are keenly interested in what life is like under the occupation, and aware of the fact the American media does little to tell your truth.]

It continues to shock me, even after all these speaking events, that many of our intelligent young people are still under the impression that Iraq attacked us on 9/11. It continues to feel good that they are receptive to, and understanding of a more rational view of recent historical events. It was great to have a chance to engage them, bring them the truth in Iraqi student writings, and let them see another view of American actions in Iraq.

In loving kindness,

Bruce and Noor

Mar 13 2009 Let American students know how you feel.

Are you a student in Iraq: Do you know students?

WRITE TO US AND WE WILL READ YOUR WORDS TO AMERICAN STUDENTS In the next 3 weeks we will speak at 3 New York City Colleges about “Reality of Life Under U.S. Occupation.”

Is now better than under Sadaam?

What is your day like?

What are your hopes?

What do you want American students to know about your life?

Let American students know how you feel.

If you are a student in Iraq or you know a student in Iraq:

Send your words now:  mail@121Contact.org and we’ll read them to New York City students, and then let you know what the students thought.

 

Please write soon so we can have time to prepare the presentations.

Shukran gazeelan,

Bruce (NY Peace Worker)  and Noor (Baghdadi School Teacher)

Mar 10 2009 Iraq: Bombs kill scores of people, but the NYTimes is silent again.

[March 11 2009: Ah, I spoke too soon. The NYTimes covered the story in today's March 11 paper. I got my story directly from Iraqi sources and evidently the NYT was not able to make the press deadline yesterday. Sorry for bashing the NYTimes unnecessarily. I guess it has become a habit of mine to criticize them for their persistent under-reporting of events in Iraq.]

Another horrible day in Iraq. Reuters and McClatchy are also carrying this news. Today's NYTimes decided not to print it. [Yes, they did cover it on thier .com site, but sadly they chose not to 'waste space' in the print edition.] I used to write letter after letter to them about this, but eventually the NYTimes won. I stopped writing them. I stopped trying to figure out why they hide the devastating consequences of our decision to use violence as a means to 'fix' Iraq.

We could have used the same money and given each man, woman, and child in Iraq some $250,000US and done more for world peace than all our bombs, torture, and destruction.

But what do I know?

Reported Security incidents:

Baghdad:
#1: Monday A roadside bomb detonated in the Shaab intersection in eastern Baghdad around 7:15 p.m. Two people were wounded.

#2: A roadside bomb wounded two civilians in central Baghdad, police said

Basra:
#1: A rocket attack on the last remaining British military base in Iraq killed one person Monday, Britain's Ministry of Defense said. A ministry spokesman said the attack occurred at about 9 p.m. local time (1800 GMT), and he would only identify the fatality as a "foreign civilian." The spokesman said the victim was not employed by the British military, but gave no further details.

Abu Ghraib:

#1: A suicide bomber killed 28 people and wounded another 28 on Tuesday during a tour by tribal leaders and security officials of a market in western Baghdad, a security official said. Major-General Qassim Moussawi, a security spokesman in Baghdad, said the attack took place when a group of dignitaries, including army officers, toured a crowded market in Abu Ghraib, just west of Baghdad.

Balad:
#1: Rockets or mortars were also fired yesterday near the giant US base in Balad 80 kilometers north of Baghdad, the US military said. There were no reports of damage or casualties.

Kirkuk:

#1: A police official on Monday was wounded in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in Kirkuk province, according to a local police chief. “This morning, an explosive charge went off in al-Riyad district (40 km southwest of Kirkuk) targeting the motorcade of the district’s police chief, who was on his way to work, wounding him alongside his driver,” Brig. Sarhad Qadir told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: A Sahwa council member on Tuesday was wounded in a kidnap attempt near Kirkuk city, a security source said. “The kidnap attempt took place near Yarghon al-Ulya village, al-Rashad district (35 km southwest of Kirkuk),” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The wounded was hospitalized,” the source added.

Mosul:
#1: Nine civilians were wounded in an explosion that ripped through a wedding party in Mosul city, a security source said on Tuesday. “On Monday evening, nine civilians, including one child, were injured when a gunman threw a hand grenade at a house where a wedding party was taking place in al-Rashidiya area, northern Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: Four civilians on Tuesday were killed or wounded in a car bomb blast that targeted a police patrol vehicle in Ninewa province, according to a police source. “A car rigged with explosives and parked behind Hamdaniya mayor’s office went off today near a police patrol vehicle, killing two civilians and wounding two others,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

A parked car bomb killed two civilians and wounded six people, including two policemen in al-Hamdaniya town, east of Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said

#3: A bomb blast killed a young girl west of Mosul, police said.

#4: Gunmen killed a woman when they stormed her house in western Mosul, police said.