121 Contact

Apr 28 2009 Iraq math, where fractions = factions

We were sitting quietly after dinner looking over the bay at the twinkling winking lights of San Francisco.
Dinner was light and bright and the mists of a cool summer evening made everything out there look so soft with not a hint of the bone-chilling air on the other side of the glass.

We began to ponder the complications of Iraq; the incredibly complex set of elements acting on the lives of the innocent and guilty alike...

Shi'ites, SCIRI, the Badr Brigade, the Sunni, insurgents, maqowma, newly unemployed Awakening Council members, Bathists, Muslim Clerics Association, the Kurds, the KDP and PUK, Da’wa Party, the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, or ISCI, and the Sadrists,  Fadhila, Al Qaeda, kidnappers,orphan-youth-gangs, the gypsies of Diyala, the Christians, Chaldeans, Christian Assyrians, Chaldo-Assyrian...foreign business interests...

and they are all stuggling to get a piece of the pie. short-term or long, each faction has its own momentum.

Some want stability. Those with political power now would like to see themselves strengthened and entrenched. Rising power groups would like peace to enble them to grow. The Peace Movement requires security and more freedom of movement to allow its grass-roots endeavors to take root. Those with reconstruction projects want a calm environment ini which to profit from US tax dollars earmarked for helping rebuild Iraq.

Some desire continued chaos. The criminals thrive in the relatively lawless environment that results from a thinly spread central authority. Terrorists love the madness they create within the power vacuum, waiting for thier chance to step forward as the saviours of the victims.

Some make an incredible profit from the continuing occupation. It's no secret that the monthly $10 billion dollars being spent on the occupation doesn't just dissapear into the sky. It lines the pockets of the warOcrats of the US. Lucrative agriculture, ammunition, weapons, oil, gas, and manufacturing contracts extract billions of dollars from Iraq while leaving vague the details of which factions, or the central government, are in control. Local deals abound.

Pre-sanctions Iraq was the largest exporter of grain the middle East. Now the U.S. Cargill outfit sits atop a huge grain supply contract which was awarded to it by the Occupation Agriculture Chief Amstutz. And waht was he before being annointed with sucha title: A CEO of Cargill. Wonder of wonders! What a coincidence.

And the more we destory, and allow to be destroyed, the larger the reconctruction projects will be.

The more we break the more we get paid. Well not exactly all of us get paid. The taxpayers in the U.S. will foot a great deal of the bill as the American government puts reconstruction projects into place. The owners of the reconstruction companies will reap the profits.

And who are the owners? And what is their relationship the the Bushmen? It's not hard to find out, but I am too weary at this moment to dive into the depressing facts of the US war-profiteering machine. For now I'll just have to go by my prejudiced instincts and assume the theBushmen are making out just fine.

[OK: just a little: Warren Staley, in 2004 the chairman and chief executive officer of Cargill, Inc., has close ties with George W. Bush’s administration and was a major supporter of Bush’s 2004 presidential campaign.]

[Enough: I've got to get ready to meet Jack at the Jewish Museum in San Francisco. Waw! It's been a long time since we've seen each other!]

Peace to you and yours,
b

Apr 23 2009 Bush torture creeps in, Iraq violence creeps up, Bruce is creeped out!

As America tries, again, to come to grips with the Bush administration's condoning of torture (by whatever name they wish to call it) Iraqi, again, tries not to slip into the abyss. Duluiya, Mosul,
Baghdad...the bombs keep killing and maiming.

Sitting in jet lag in a sunny San Francisco apartment I tried, again, to take a break. But of course I had to read the war news, and it wasn't good. A Sunni mosque here, a Shi'a mosque there, a patrol, a group of needy folk waiting for aid...all bombed by those who die for chaos.

And who profits from the chaos? Not the innocent Iraqi civilians caught in the horror of our occupation. We have unleashed Hell and all our feeble attempts to rectify what we started are failing. The resistance grows stronger again. Many SaHwa are reverting to thier  original 'kill the Americans'  ways, and  Maliki's government forces, when not actively engaged in thier own anti-Sunni violence, seem powerless to build the stability so many Iraqis cry for.

As long as the US forces are on the ground in Iraq  there will be a violent resistance.
Whenever we leave, should we ever leave, there will be a violent struggle until some strongman takes over and imposes a tranquility born of force an fear.

It will be generation before Iraq heals from the cancer we injected.

Maybe I'll regain some hope after a good night's rest.
Inshallah,
b

Reported Security incidents:

Baghdad:
#1: Iraqi officials say at least 22 people have been killed in a suicide bombing that struck civilians collecting humanitarian aid in Baghdad. Police and hospital officials say Thursday's attack occurred near Tahariyat Square in the central neighborhood of Karradah. An official at the Interior Ministry says 22 people have been killed and 52 wounded.

The blast targeted a police patrol in the Karrada district on Thursday and the dead included at least 13 policemen, the interior ministry said. The police were said to be helping to distribute relief supplies to displaced Iraqis at the time of the attack.

In the first attack a suicide bomber wearing a vest stuffed with explosives blew himself up in a group of police distributing relief supplies in Baghdad, killing at least 28 people and wounding 50.

#2: Wednesday Around 10 p.m. a gunman threw a grenade on an Iraqi national police check point at the high way which leads to the Ministry of Finance building in downtown Baghdad on Wednesday. One policeman was killed and three others were wounded including two civilians.

Diyala Prv:
Khanaqin:
#1: One civilian was killed and two others were wounded in an armed attack near Khanaqin district, a Diala security source said on Thursday. “On Wednesday evening, unknown gunmen driving a car opened fire on a civilian vehicle on al-Imam Wis road (35km south of Khanaqin), killing one civilian and wounding two others before fleeing to an unknown destination,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

Baquba:
#1: At least seven people were killed and 25 wounded when a suicide bomber attacked a group of Iranian pilgrims on Thursday near the northeastern city of Baquba, Iraqi police said.

A second suicide bomber killed at least 25 people later on Thursday , most of them thought to be Iranian pilgrims, in a restaurant northeast of Baghdad, Iraqi police said.

Duluiya:
#1: At least six people were killed and 15 others were wounded Wednesday when a suicide bomber detonated an explosive belt inside a Sunni mosque northern Baghdad, a police source said. The source told the German news agency dpa that the blast occurred right before the evening prayer in al-Kholafa mosque in al-Duluiya district, 80 kilometres north of Baghdad. The mosque was severely damaged. 'It seems that the suicide bomber was targeting the mosque's imam, Nadhim al-Jubouri, who was not inside the mosque at the time,' said the source, who said al-Jabouri was likely targeted 'because he sympathizes with the Awakening Council.'

A suicide bomber on Wednesday killed at least five people and wounded 15 inside a mosque in central Iraq, and on Monday, a suicide bomber in a police uniform killed four policemen in northeastern Diyala province. Eight US soldiers were wounded.

Mosul:
#1: One Iraqi serviceman on Wednesday was injured in an explosive charge blast that ripped through western Mosul city, according to an army source. “An improvised explosive device (IED) targeted an Iraqi army patrol vehicle in Souk al-Maash area, western Mosul, wounding a patrolman,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: Two civilians were wounded on Thursday in an improvised explosive device explosion in eastern Mosul, a security source said.“An explosive charge went off on Thursday (April 23) targeting an Iraqi army vehicle patrol in al-Zahraa neighborhood in eastern Mosul, injuring two civilians,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#3: A booby-trapped car went off on Thursday targeting the U.S. forces in eastern Mosul, without causing any casualties, a police source said. “A car crammed with explosives went off on Thursday (April 23) targeting U.S. forces in al-Nabi Younnes region in eastern Mosul, without leaving casualties,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

Apr 21 2009 Awakening Council in Iraq are being attacked by Maliki, Al Qaeda?

It's an open question for me. I received an info letter from a student who heard us speak the other day and checked out her referenced NYTimes article. As usual I was skeptical. Here is our correspondence, and a couple of references of my own:

Hi Bruce,
I came across this reading the International Herald Tribune this morning -
http://baghdadbureau.blogs.nytimes.com/
If you weren't already aware, I'm sure you'll find it interesting.
Thank you again for speaking to us yesterday! 
Namaste, A

Hi A,

Let me begin with a disclaimer: I hold the NYTimes greatly suspect in its reporting events in Iraq. It has consistently underplayed the role of the resistance and greatly understated the extent of the ongoing violence. With that in mind I was struck by a paragraph in the article you forwarded:

"Many of the militiamen are former insurgents who targeted American and Iraqi forces and later switched sides for pay. The men are regularly attacked by Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia."

What my sources tell me, and from what I read of Iraqi news agencies, many of the militia under attack are Sunni from the Awakening Councils. These men were paid by America to join forces against Al Qaeda, then turned over to the Iraqi government who reneged on their promise to pay them and take them into the Iraqi police and army forces.

Many ex-Awakening members, and other sources, claim that Maliki's government is behind the attacks because they are seen as a threat to his Iran-backed Shi'a government.

And why is the wounded militia man tied to his bed in a Government hospital? Is he a suspect? Considered a threat?

Where is the truth?
respectfully,
Bruce
UPI March 30 2009
"...moves to integrate [Sunni] council members into the Shiite-dominated Iraqi army have proven difficult and some say anti-government uprisings could erupt in other Awakening-controlled areas."

Dahr Jamail Apr 13 2009
"Recently, there has been a large upswing of killings and detentions of Awakening Council members by the Iraqi government."

April 20 2009 121Contact at NYU - students move toward peaceful tomorrows

121Contact at NYU

Bruce Wallace April 20 2009

 

A breath of fresh air! After about 3 dozen events we found ourselves at Professor Nicotera’s NYU Peace Education class, filled with intelligent, knowledgeable students. We were not disappointed. They were as attentive as last year’s students at our first NYU presentation.

 

They were only around 12 years old on 9/11/01 and 9/11 doesn’t mean the same thing to them as it does to us, but they clearly understood the consequences to innocent Iraqis resulting from our invasion and occupation. They asked intelligent questions. They wanted to know about alternate news sources; they evidenced the compassion one would hope to find in today’s college students.

 [click to enlarge]

This is the work we love to do: one-to-one contact with young people that enables them to feel in touch with young Iraqis; to understand them not as ‘the other’, but as young adults very much like themselves.

 

As usual we didn’t talk much politics. We did touch upon the relentless attempts by the U.S. military to isolate the Iraqis as much as possible which effectively prevents internal peace movements from forming widespread bases from which to  deter violence. We did talk about the staggering numbers of deaths, widows, and orphans that have resulted from our decision to use violence in Iraq. We spoke about the ongoing hell that most Iraqis live in today. We spoke about the hatred for Americans this occupation continues to engender,  and how that will persist for generations.

 

And they clearly understood the profound sense of isolation that results from the trauma of prolonged exposure to violence and loss. They asked if they could write to Iraqi students, and we were happy to say ‘Yes.’ It didn’t take long before they started to write. The first of their emails were waiting for me when I got back home.

 

We hope to get answering emails back to them as soon as possible so that another group of students can begin to break through the walls of political violence and find the hearts of the people on ‘the other side’.

 

It is in students like these that the world will find its way to more peaceful tomorrows.

 

 

 

090415 Two Conversations and a plan: 'Get us out of here. I beg of you...'

I had a chance to speak with an Iraqi government employee yesterday. She heard about 121Contact's work with refugees and asylees. She is out of Iraq now, but her situation is sad. Like many who have escaped the horror of the occupation she is separated from her family, and powerless to do anything about it.

"Can you help me please...to take my children and my husband from Baghdad? I have tried many things, but they will not let them come to me."

I thought about the terrible pain that first pushed her to leave, and then about the pain of not being able to reunite her family. She had thought it would not be hard. First I go and then I bring the family...
Many have been fooled by this dream, and many suffer for it.

And then this morning I found this on Layla's blog, "Arab Woman Blues"

- Please help us, we must really get out, it has become totally unbearable...it's unlivable, we simply can't continue...

Everyday there is an explosion, we can't even make it to the gates of the house. We are surrounded by Iranians and Shiite militias. Even the police cannot be trusted. I never knew the Shiites to be like that. You know X, Y and Z, they had to embrace Shiism, they had to, they had no choice. Your uncle is going crazy, he can't believe what has happened to us. I can't find a job, am too scared to seek one. Your other cousin is too scared to venture out, what if they kidnap him. We can't afford it anymore. We have no more income, no savings left...everything is too expensive. We can't afford it anymore. Nothing functions anymore...I am tired of hearing Persian spoken here and they block all the roads every time an Iranian dignitary passes by... Qum is ruling us. I am too scared for our lives...Please help us.

- And what about the Americans ?

- They are idiots and hayawanat ( = animals in Arabic.) They understand nothing. It's out of their control now. So can you do anything for us ?

- I will try

- No Layla, you cannot just try. Get us out of here. I beg of you...


The line was cut --- Dead at the other end of the receiver.

First we create a hell and then we close the gates and lock them in.
How diabolical is that.

The Center for American Progress reports that somewhere between 30,000 and 100,000 Iraqis who have worked with/for the U.S. in Iraq are in danger for their lives. And their families are often threatened also. The official resettlement process is slow and difficult to navigate, often taking as long as 2 years for an individual to be relocated. The U.S. goal this year is to take in 17,000 Iraqis, and we are not even half-way to that yet. And this goal does not target those Iraqis who worked with the U.S. It is meant to alleviate the suffering of the several millions who are displace outside of Iraq. The IRC and other aid organizations label this as totally inadequate.

"For many Iraqi civilians, going home would be a death sentence," says Michael Kocher, who oversees IRC's international aid programs. "The reality is that all but a tiny fraction of uprooted Iraqis are staying put because they know their neighborhoods are still violent, not safe, and lack basic services. To encourage and lure returns at this stage is irresponsible."

Helping those who helped us is a clear moral responsibility. Here's the CAP plan:
Step 1: Appoint a White House coordinator for Iraqi refugees and internally displaced persons. President-elect Obama should appoint a White House coordinator for Iraqi refugees and IDPs as outlined in the Kennedy-Biden-Durbin-Hagel-Smith legislation—a bill to develop a policy to address the critical needs of Iraqi refugees. The coordinator’s responsibilities would include overseeing the airlift.
Step 2: Conduct an audit and review of current efforts. Full-time, dedicated embassy staff throughout the region from various U.S. government agencies must conduct a thorough audit and create a comprehensive list of U.S.-affiliated Iraqis through the SIV and traditional refugee assistance programs.
Step 3: Finalize security background checks. U.S. agencies should increase resources and personnel to conduct in-country security background checks of U.S.-affiliated Iraqis in Iraq and throughout the region.
Step 4: Order the commencement of the airlift. Once Iraqis are identified, the military should fly Iraqis in small, staggered groups to a third location.
Step 5: Implement and follow up on third-country expedited processing for Iraqi refugees. The White House coordinator should convene agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of State, and the Department of Health and Human Services, which would be engaged in the expedited processing of U.S.-affiliated Iraqis and oversee smooth coordination between U.S. government agencies and the military.
Step 6: Facilitate relocation and placement in the United States. U.S.-affiliated Iraqis should be flown to the United States, where some can be funneled into Arabic language-critical jobs. Once the situation in Iraq has improved and U.S.-affiliated Iraqis feel confident about their safety, the expectation is that some of them will return to Iraq.
Protecting U.S.-affiliated Iraqis is a moral and strategic imperative. It is a way for the United States government to thank Iraqis who made their work possible in Iraq and to improve America’s standing in the world. The region is watching to see what happens to this particular group of Iraqis, and America will have difficulty finding new allies if regional actors perceive the United States as turning its back on those with whom it worked most closely. Congress has signaled with broad bipartisan support its intent to protect these Iraqis, but they are still at risk due to bureaucratic inertia. The Obama administration can overcome these hurdles with a presidential order for an airlift in 2009.
[Read and download the full report]

Apr 11 2009 U.S. Propaganda, Iraq deaths, American ignorance

I guess I am still upset by the encounter with those American college students the other day. They were the students who still believed that Iraq attacked us on 9/11. (OMG it's over 7 years since Mitch died under the South Tower while rescuing injured and innocent civilians on that day that changed my world.)

That they were 'small-town' Americans is no excuse. They have professors, religious and social leaders, parents. Is no one responsible for undoing the lies and seeing that the truth is spread as diligently as the lies were promulgated?

I hope some of Obama's stimulus money is headed for socio-political education, textbook and curriculum revision, and some public awareness in our media. It's about time we ensured that all Americans understand the depth of the lies about the Iraqi people.

What follows:
1) An excerpt from Layla Anwar's blog, and
2) The Incident report for Friday April 10 2009.

The former is included because I love her insights, her style, and her passion for the truth.
The latter because we ought to pay attention to the field of battle in which we sacrifice our young, brave soldiers for the sake of...what? For momentum? For old, long dis-proven ideas?

We set our troops out to be killed. It is certainly not for the Iraqi people. The majority of Iraqis want us gone! Long gone. Completely gone. We put our sons and daughters in the killing zone because...???

1) An excerpt from Layla Anwar's blog
- Layla : Hello again Malcolm, let's continue...

If I "hear" you right, Americans absolutely had to demonize Saddam to get to Iraq. I am thinking if it was only a question of getting rid of Saddam Hussein, they could have gotten rid of him without having to destroy Iraq and the decades of hard work. Why did they need to destroy the Iraqi infrastructure, the cultural and historical "patrimoine" and more importantly why did they need the collaboration of another country on the axis of evil - Iran - to achieve their aims ?

Malcolm : The propaganda was all aimed at Saddam, yet some politicians realized that the country consisted of more than one person. By publicly demonizing Saddam, it was automatic that the U.S. citizenry would extend its hatred to Iraqis as well.

The scenario leading up to the March 2003 invasion was quite bizarre. We kept hearing that Saddam was a butcher who did not allow students to have pencils. There was not one word saying that the U.S. would not allow pencils into Iraq during the embargo. One leftist journalist wrote an article in 2006 titled "Education System in Iraq Is in Danger." I thought to myself, "Finally, a look at the reality of the invasion." He began by saying that Iraq had a great education until Saddam came to power. Then, he ruined it. The writer claimed that no teacher could leave Iraq for any reason. If he/she did, the penalty was death. I was aghast to read this. In 1973 and 1974, Iraq sent thousands of teachers overseas to obtain advanced degrees....[Arab Woman Blues]

2) The Incident report for Friday April 10 2009; 10 bombs, one grenage, one missle strike.

Baghdad:
#1: A Katyusha missile hit a house in Taji district, a northern suburb of Baghdad injuring two women and causing extensive material damage to the house.

#2: A roadside bomb targeted civilians in the city of Yousifiyah, 25 km to the south of Baghdad City killing two, injuring four others.

Diyala Prv:
#1: Two people, including a woman, were killed when a civilian car was damaged by a roadside bomb in al-Mansorea district, about 35 km east of Baqubah, the capital city of Diyala province. Five others were also injured in the bombing, according to the source.

#2: In a separate incident, at least 10 people were injured by a cycle bomb detonated near a wedding party in al-Askaree district, about 30 km east of Baqubah, the source said.

#3: The Diala police chief announced on Friday that the fourth Operation “New Dawn” started in central Baaquba. “Police forces started on the wee small hours of Friday morning (April 10) the fourth Operation (New Dawn) to hunt down al-Qaeda strongholds in al-Mafraq, al-Katoun and al-Mualameen neighborhoods in central Baaquba,” General Abdul Hussein al-Shemri told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#4: Around 4:15 p.m. one construction worker was killed and another wounded by an IED inside Saad Camp for the Iraqi army in eastern Baquba on Thursday.

#5: Thursday Around 5:15 p.m. a bicycle bomb detonated among people who were attending a wedding party in downtown Balad Ruz (about 25 miles southeast Baquba). Six people were wounded, two women and four men.

Amarra:
#1: A roadside bomb on Thursday went off targeting a police patrol in northern Amara city, without causing any casualties, said a source from Missan province’s police. “The incident took place in al-Moalimeen neighborhood, northern Amara,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The explosion caused no casualties, but damaged the patrol’s vehicle,” he said.

Basra:
#1: The bomb which went off in Basra on Thursday targeted the Iraqi army not the Multinational forces, the media advisor of the U.S. forces said on Friday. “An explosive charge went off on Thursday (April 9) targeting an Iraqi army vehicle patrol in Basra,” al-Muqdad Jebreel told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. A source from Basra Operations Room had said Thursday a roadside bomb went off targeting a Multi-National Forces (MNF) patrol in Iraq’s southern city of Basra, without causing any damages or casualties. “The incident took place while the patrol was en-route to its base at Basra International Airport,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

Riyadh:
#1: One gunman was wounded while he was attempting to plant a grenade to target a Sahwa (Awakening) checkpoint, to the southwest of Kirkuk, said a source from the province’s police. “The incident took place in al-Riyadh district, 45 km southwest of Kirkuk,” Brigadier Serhad Qadir told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The wounded gunman was immediately arrested by Sahwa fighters,” he said.

Mosul:
#1: A suicide bomber detonated a truck packed with explosives outside an Iraqi army and police base in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, killing one soldier and wounding 30 other people, police said. The toll of dead and wounded was only preliminary, and likely to rise, said a police source, who declined to be named. He said 15 of the wounded were police.

At least eight people were killed and 20 wounded in a suicide truck bombing in Iraq's restive northern city of Mosul on Friday, security sources told. The blast occurred in the southern part of Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, Lieutenant Colonel Mohammed al-Juburi told. An interior ministry official said at least eight people were killed.

A suicide bomber detonated a truck packed with explosives outside an Iraqi army and police base in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on Friday, killing two people and wounding 70 others, police said. The attack killed one soldier and one policeman, and at least 15 other policemen were among the wounded, police said. The blast destroyed five Iraqi and two U.S. armoured vehicles. The U.S. military was not immediately available to comment.

Apr 10 2009 Violence in Iraq: Should your daughter be drafted?

At our presentation to students at New York's John Jay College of Criminal Justice a  young woman asked if we thought we should pull out of Iraq. I reframed the question: "Do I think I should send you to Iraq to die for anything worth your life?"

I didn't have to answer. It was obvious that no one in the hall thought we should be sending _them_ to Iraq. And most Iraqis don't want us there either. They long for a chance to take care of their own business and we owe them at least that.

Let's take the billions of dollars still spent each month for our occupation and use it for civilian projects that will make real security in Iraq a reality, and responsibility, for Iraqis. Even half of our current expenditures will make for immense Improvements in electricity and water systems, education, health care, support for widows and orphans. None of it comes cheap, but all of it will provide Iraqis with jobs and a better life from which to regain the vital confidence they have lost during the occupation.

In loving kindness,
Bruce and Noor

Tension escalates in Iraq  [<- full story] 

BAGHDAD, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Iraqis rallied in central Baghdad on Thursday to protest the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq six years after the collapse of the Saddam Hussein regime. Thousands of Iraqis gathered at the Firdus Square where the statue of Saddam Hussein brought down in April 9, 2003.

    The rally was originally called upon by fire brand Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who led two uprisings against U.S. troops in Iraq since the invasion...The demonstrators raised posters of Sadr and banners demanding the U.S. troops to leave Iraq, chanting slogans saying "NO, No, America" and "No, No, Israel."

   

"Demonstrations are part of our rights to peacefully express our rejection to occupation," Abdul Zahra Ali told Xinhua [news service]. "We will continue protesting the occupation from time to time until the remove of the occupation," Ali vowed.

Reported Security incidents Apr 10 2009:
Baghdad:
#1: A Katyusha missile hit a house in Taji district, a northern suburb of Baghdad injuring two women and causing extensive material damage to the house.

#2: A roadside bomb targeted civilians in the city of Yousifiyah, 25 km to the south of Baghdad City killing two, injuring four others.

Diyala Prv:
#1: Two people, including a woman, were killed when a civilian car was damaged by a roadside bomb in al-Mansorea district, about 35 km east of Baqubah, the capital city of Diyala province. Five others were also injured in the bombing, according to the source.

#2: In a separate incident, at least 10 people were injured by a cycle bomb detonated near a wedding party in al-Askaree district, about 30 km east of Baqubah, the source said.

#3: The Diala police chief announced on Friday that the fourth Operation “New Dawn” started in central Baaquba. “Police forces started on the wee small hours of Friday morning (April 10) the fourth Operation (New Dawn) to hunt down al-Qaeda strongholds in al-Mafraq, al-Katoun and al-Mualameen neighborhoods in central Baaquba,” General Abdul Hussein al-Shemri told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#4: Around 4:15 p.m. one construction worker was killed and another wounded by an IED inside Saad Camp for the Iraqi army in eastern Baquba on Thursday.

#5: Thursday Around 5:15 p.m. a bicycle bomb detonated among people who were attending a wedding party in downtown Balad Ruz (about 25 miles southeast Baquba). Six people were wounded, two women and four men.

Amarra:
#1: A roadside bomb on Thursday went off targeting a police patrol in northern Amara city, without causing any casualties, said a source from Missan province’s police. “The incident took place in al-Moalimeen neighborhood, northern Amara,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The explosion caused no casualties, but damaged the patrol’s vehicle,” he said.

Basra:
#1: The bomb which went off in Basra on Thursday targeted the Iraqi army not the Multinational forces, the media advisor of the U.S. forces said on Friday. “An explosive charge went off on Thursday (April 9) targeting an Iraqi army vehicle patrol in Basra,” al-Muqdad Jebreel told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. A source from Basra Operations Room had said Thursday a roadside bomb went off targeting a Multi-National Forces (MNF) patrol in Iraq’s southern city of Basra, without causing any damages or casualties. “The incident took place while the patrol was en-route to its base at Basra International Airport,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

Riyadh:
#1: One gunman was wounded while he was attempting to plant a grenade to target a Sahwa (Awakening) checkpoint, to the southwest of Kirkuk, said a source from the province’s police. “The incident took place in al-Riyadh district, 45 km southwest of Kirkuk,” Brigadier Serhad Qadir told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The wounded gunman was immediately arrested by Sahwa fighters,” he said.

Mosul:
#1: A suicide bomber detonated a truck packed with explosives outside an Iraqi army and police base in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, killing one soldier and wounding 30 other people, police said. The toll of dead and wounded was only preliminary, and likely to rise, said a police source, who declined to be named. He said 15 of the wounded were police.

At least eight people were killed and 20 wounded in a suicide truck bombing in Iraq's restive northern city of Mosul on Friday, security sources told. The blast occurred in the southern part of Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, Lieutenant Colonel Mohammed al-Juburi told. An interior ministry official said at least eight people were killed.

A suicide bomber detonated a truck packed with explosives outside an Iraqi army and police base in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on Friday, killing two people and wounding 70 others, police said. The attack killed one soldier and one policeman, and at least 15 other policemen were among the wounded, police said. The blast destroyed five Iraqi and two U.S. armoured vehicles. The U.S. military was not immediately available to comment.

Apr 9 2009 'US behind recent Iraq bomb attacks' - a growing feeling in Iraq

Whether or not the assertion is true is not the point. The reality is that many people in Iraq and neighboring states read such accusations on a regular basis, do not read opposing opinions, and build their social/political belief structures based upon such 'revelations'.

We've recently spoken to young men from the area who have never met a Jew and yet are convinced of their evil intent based upon propaganda about the 'Global Zionist Conspiracy for World domination'.This got us digging into local media to see just where they are getting their ideas.

Many young Arabs who have never had contact with Americans and little exposure to Western media have formed their opinions from the narrow world of what 'information' is made available to them by local, government-controlled media and the rumors that follow such disinformation.

Here is part of a piece from Press TV, 'the first Iranian international news network'

'US behind recent Iraq bomb attacks'

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 07:42:38 GMT

An Iraqi lawmaker alleges that 'the occupiers' are behind the recent bomb blasts in Iraq basing his claims on the fact that the US has access to Iraq's security and intelligence files.

Maha al-Dori, a member of Sadr fraction in the Iraqi parliament said that "the occupiers are causing disarray in Iraq with aim of at taking control over the country's affairs."

Al-Dori, who was speaking to al-Alam on Wednesday, also noted that Sadr's anti-occupation movement has called on Iraqis to hold a demonstration, calling for the occupiers' - a term referring to American forces -- immediate withdrawal from Iraq.

Citing that the escalating violence in the country is coinciding with the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq, the Sadrist lawmaker said that 'the occupiers' are responsible for the insecurity, linking the recent blast to American forces.  

All the more reason for us to continue to build bridges between students in the U.S. and the Middle East so that they can learn of each other without the filters of biased media on both sides.
b

Reported Security incidents April 9, 2009:

Baghdad:
#1: Around 11 a.m. a magnetic bomb attached to a civilian car detonated in Saidiyah neighborhood in southern Baghdad on Thursday. Eight people were wounded.

Diyala Prv:
Baquba:
#1: One civilian on Thursday was killed and three others were wounded in an explosive charge blast that occured in downtown Baaquba city, according to a local police source. “A sticky improvised explosive device (IED) went off inside a civilian vehicle in al-Ameen neighborhood, downtown Baaquba, killing one civilian and wounding three others,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

Al Saadiya:
#1: Police forces on Thursday found two bodies of a woman and her daughter in the northeast of Baaquba, a security source said. “Police forces on Thursday morning (April 9) found the bodies of a woman and her daughter near Rabieya village in al-Saadiya district, south of Khaneqeen, northeast of Baaquba,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency, noting that they had been kidnapped on Wednesday (April 8) in Jalawlaa district, west of Khaneqeen.

Amarra:
#1: A roadside bomb on Thursday went off targeting a police patrol in northern Amara city, without causing any casualties, said a source from Missan province’s police. “The incident took place in al-Moalimeen neighborhood, northern Amara,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The explosion caused no casualties, but damaged the patrol’s vehicle,” he said.

Irbil:
#1: One civilian on Wednesday was shot down by unknown gunmen near a popular market in downtown Arbil city, according to a local police source. “On Wednesday, unidentified gunmen killed a civilian near a used clothes market in central Arbil,” Brig. Abdulkhaliq Talaat told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

Kirkuk:
#1: An improvised explosive device went off on Thursday in central Kirkuk, targeting a U.S. vehicle patrol, a police source said. “The bomb exploded while a U.S. vehicle patrol was passing near the Kirkuk council building,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The explosion caused no casualties or material damage,” he added, without giving further details.

Mosul:
#1: An improvised explosive device (IED) on Wednesday targeted an army patrol in Mosul city, causing no casualties, according to a local police source. “The explosion occurred in al-Hadbaa neighborhood,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency, adding that no casualties were reported.

#2: One civilian on Wednesday was killed by an improvised explosive device (IED) that targeted his vehicle in Mosul city, according to a security source. “The civilian died when the explosive charge detonated inside his vehicle in al-Quds neighborhood, eastern Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#3: One civilian on Wednesday was killed and another was wounded by U.S. fire in Mosul city, according to a local security source. “The incident occurred in al-Mosul al-Jadida area, western Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency, providing no further details.

#4: Four mortar shells hit Badoush prison in the west of Mosul, a police source said on Thursday. “The shells, launched on Wednesday night (April 8), exploded near the external fence of the jail,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

5: A civilian was killed by two gunmen in western Mosul on Thursday, a police source said. “Two unknown gunmen shot and killed a civilian in al-Senaa al-Qadeema region in western Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

Al Anbar Prv:
#1: Three Sahwa council fighters on Wednesday were wounded in an explosive charge blast the occurred in Anbar province, according to a local police chief. “The roadside device, which went off in Halibaja village (3 km east of al-Karma district), wounded a Sahwa leader in Falluja, Naeem Saleh Abullah, who was on his way back home, as well as two of his guards,” Lt. Col. Hatif Mohammed told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

Apr 8 2009 Iraq Occupation-Do Iraqis want it to end?

I wish it were as simple as the NYTimes puts it with its cover articles about one car bombing and a spate of killings of gay Baghdadis. But it isn't that simple at all.

In fact yesterday there were at least 4 bombings, a number of assassinations of pro-American Sunni leaders, more released prisoners have been assassinated [Iraqi Resistance Report 1335], some firefights, mortar shell deaths, and a grenade attack. The violence is mainly concentrated in large cities forcing the majority of the Iraqi population to live without a sense of security.

Yes, Iraq is less violent than 2005-6, but it is still an incredibly dangerous country where anything might happen at any time.

The admittedly small sampling of people we communicate with in Iraq cannot speak for all Iraqis, but we feel it does represent prevalent popular opinion mirrored in other media. And the general consensus is that we prolong violence and instability.

We have given arms and payments to armed militias which now rule many neighborhoods extra-environmentally. We have abandoned most of the U.S. paid Awakening fighters on the unfulfilled promise that the Iraqi government will continue to employ and pay them.We back an unpopular government many see as an Iranian puppet. We enable the maqawma to continue recruiting by our very presence. Efforts by the U.S. to 'rebuild' are seen as merely handing cash over to corrupt officials who pocket the money while the education, water, electrical, health, and  social service systems continue to decline.

And as all occupiers of the region, for the past 100 years or so, our presence prevents Iraqis from assuming responsibility for their own nation's governance and security.

Whenever we leave, be it today or next year, the result will be the same. The powers that are jockeying, sometimes killing, for power will battle and one or another faction will come out on top.
These new rulers will impose a strong central government in Baghdad; make deals with the North and South of the country, and eventually violence will be reduced to levels the police and army will be able to deal with.

How long will it take? No one will venture a guess. But all we speak to are sure of one thing: the longer we occupy Iraq the longer these relatively high levels of violence will continue. Iraqis will never be able to take control of Iraq as long as we are there.

b



Reported Security incidents Apr 7 2009

Baghdad:
#1: A car bomb killed nine people and wounded 18 in the Shi'ite Kadhimiya district of northwest Baghdad on Tuesday, police said. Police said the number of casualties from the attack, near one of Shi'ite Islam's holiest shrines, was preliminary and could rise.

#2: Monday A roadside bomb detonated in Athemiyah neighborhood in north Baghdad at 5 p.m. Three civilians were injured.

#3: Gunmen threw a hand grenade at a grocery store in New Baghdad, eastern Baghdad at 8 a.m. Tuesday. The store burned down but there were no human casualties.

#4: A roadside bomb targeted a police patrol in Zafaraniyah, southeastern Baghdad at 9 a.m. No casualties were reported.

#5: 3 "Awakening" policemen killed in drive-by assault on a checkpoint in Baghdad's as-Salikh neighborhood.

Iskandariya:
#1: Iraqi army forces on Tuesday found a body of a Sahwa council member in northern Babel province, according to a local police source. “Today, army personnel found a corpse belonging to a Sahwa fighter in a village in al-Iskandriya district (50 km north of Hilla),” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The body bore signs of torture and gunshot wounds,” the source added.

Mosul:
#1: The leader of an Arab tribe in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul has been fatally shot, police reported. Police sources said unknown gunmen killed Shaikh Farhan Falah Mohammed Yunis on Monday night in the district of 17 Tamuz, west of Mosul, in Iraq’s ethnically divided Nineveh province. Shaikh Farahan was the leader of a local Arab tribe and an important politician with the Hadba List, the Arab nationalist coalition that won January’s provincial council elections in Nineveh on a platform of taking control of the province from Kurdish parties.

#2: U.S. forces killed a civilian during a raid in southern Mosul, a police source said on Monday. “U.S. forces on Sunday night (April 5) killed a civilian when they raided his house in Wadi Hajar region in southern Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. He gave no further details.

#3: Unknown gunmen killed a leader of al-Hadbaa list on Monday in western Mosul, a security source said. “Unknown gunmen on Monday night (April 6) killed Falah Mohamed Younis al-Farahat, a leader of al-Hadbaa list and the chief of al-Farahat tribe, in Talafar district in west of Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “They showered him with bullets in front of his house in 17 Tmouz neighborhood in western Mosul,” he added.

#4: A civilian was killed and two more were wounded in clashes that broke out between gunmen and police forces in western Mosul, a police source said. “Fierce clashes flared up on Monday (April 6) in al-Shefaa neighborhood in western Mosul between gunmen and police forces, during which a passing civilian was killed and two others were wounded,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency, adding no more details.

#5: U.S. forces have killed one gunman and arrested five others during raids in southern Mosul, a media advisor for the forces said on Tuesday. “On Sunday evening, U.S. forces killed a gunman in Wadi Hajar area, southern Mosul, during a raid that targeted a suicide bombing cell,” the advisor told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “In light of intelligence tips, the forces surrounded a house and ordered those inside to come out,” he explained. “One of the gunmen escaped over the roofs of adjoining houses, forcing U.S. forces to shoot him and kill him instantly,” he added.

#6: A morgue in Mosul on Tuesday received an unknown body from U.S. forces in the city, according to a local medic. “The body, which belongs to a 35-year-old man, bore signs of gunshot wounds to the chest and abdomen,” the medic told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

The U.S. military killed an Iraqi civilian by mistake in Wadi Hajar, to the south of Mosul, Iraqi police said. The U.S. military did not confirm the incident.

 Faluja:
2 Bombs exploded near a US vehicle east of al-Fallujah Thursday morning as a U.S. column passed. One amphibious vehicle caught fire and three soldiers were extracted and sent to the U.S. base near al-Fallujah for treatment. After the attack the U.S. forces arrested fove local residents who had been in the area at the time of the explosions.
Garma:
#1: A roadside bomb targeted the motorcade of Abu Qutaiba, a high ranking member in the Support Councils (tribal security councils formed by PM al Maliki) in Garma, southern Fallujah at 3.30 p.m. Tuesday. Abu Qutaiba survived the assassination attempt, which was not the first, but was severely injured. The explosion also killed one policeman and injured four policemen and four civilians.

Al Haditha:
Tribal "Awakening" police murder ex-prisoner in front of his mother.

Apr 5 2009 Remember Iraq: violence at a new low-fear remains constant

Although the reports of violence are significantly down it remains true that the Baghdad populace lives in walled neighborhoods without adequate electricity, water, and most importantly-security.

Bombs are heard each day. Shooting is heard each day. Many parents are paranoid about letting their children go out to play, even in their own yards. Many students sit at home staring at the walls because they or their parents are afraid to let them venture forth to school.

While it is reported to us that some small towns and cities in the North and South have begun to achieve a 'normalcy', Baghdad remains a city of fear. AHmed, in Samawa, has bought a car! He now reaps the simple pleasure of this symbol of freedom and reports the roads are clear and safe.
 

"We only want a simple life"

News of the Day for Sunday, April 5, 2009 Reported Security Incidents

Baghdad
The bodies of three men reputed to be homosexuals have been found in Sadr City, dead of gunshot wounds. Previously, two other men had been dumped in the street with their arms and legs broken.

Falluja
Simultaneous explosions kill 9 policemen. Note: Other reports give a lower death toll, and indicate that some of the police were injured, not killed. This is the most recent report I could find, however, so I'm going with it for now.

Basra
Governor Mohammed Mosbeh al-Waeli escapes an assassination attempt.

Makhmour (near Arbil)
Police find a body dumped on a main road, dead of a gunshot.

Mosul
Police find a body dumped, with the throat slit.

Reuters reports several other incidents in Mosul: 

• Gunmen shot dead a civilian in a bus station in western Mosul
• Gunmen shot and wounded a civilian in a drive-by shooting in western Mosul
• two mortar rounds wounded a policeman when they landed on a police station, in southeastern Mosul
• Gunmen wounded two civilians and a policeman when they shot at a police checkpoint in central Mosul
• A roadside bomb killed a child and wounded a civilian when it exploded in western MosulNote: This sort of spate of reports from a single area often happens, which leads me to suspect that it is a function of their happening to be a stringer for western media around and the police happening to do a briefing. I suspect that similar levels of violence go on routinely in Mosul, and elsewhere, and simply are not reported.

Samarra
Gunmen killed a policeman and wounded another four when they opened fire at a moving police car.

Kirkuk
Gunmen in a moving car shot and wounded a civilian in the south of Kirkuk.