I got a chance to speak to Attorney General Holder yesterday...about Guantanamo. I was with a group of people who all lost loved ones on September 11, 2001. It was, of course, an emotional meeting. Old pain, fears, and anger flared again as we tried to make sense of what the Guantanamo detainees are treated and how they should be dealt with. many seemed willing to suspend basic morality because they felt, "why should these terrorists have any rights?"
Whatever happened to 'innocent until proven guilty'. Even the Attorney General conceded that among the 250 remaining prisoners there may be some that are totally innocent of crimes against U.S. Trials will have to determine their fate.
We did not talk of the other victims of 9/11: the Iraqi people. It wasn't that kind of meeting.
While Harith al=Obaidi made news in America, the daily terror that assaults Iraqis did not gain a mention. Our soldiers and innocent Iraqis are still being killed each day. The trauma persists, and the widows and orphans created by our intervention into their lives continue to struggle for sustenance.
I guess I fault the Times repeatedly because it's the one paper I read in hard copy, and because when I was younger I thought that it contained all the news I needed. I let it shape my opinions on many things, and I am sure it shapes the opinions of many today. Too bad. There is so much more news out there that is not covered. And so little time to digest it all.
I'm tired now. Got in late last night. But this afternoon I'll get a chance to spend some time with my granddaughter Maxanne, and that will lighten my day.
(Oh, and we got a new bunch of student writers from Iraq. It always feels good when we make these connections between US and Iraqi students. I know it's a small thing, but this one-to-one contact is important to me, and experience has shown it's important to the students, too.)
Y'all have a nice day now,
b
Reported Security incidents June 16, 2009:
Baghdad:
#1: Monday Four civilians were injured by a roadside bomb in Karrada neighborhood in downtown Baghdad on Monday afternoon.
#2: A roadside bomb wounded a U.S. soldier on patrol in northeast Baghdad, a U.S. military statement said, adding that one U.S. Humvee vehicle was damaged in the explosion.
[this child was killed on June 6 in an attack by unknowns on Shi'a civilians]
Samawa:
#1: An improvised
explosive device (IED) on Tuesday targeted a U.S. convoy in Muthanna
province, but no casualties were reported, according to a local
security source. “A roadside explosive device detonated at the southern
entrance of Samawa city while a U.S. convoy of four vehicles was
passing the location,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. No
casualties or damage resulted, the source noted. “The U.S. soldiers
fired randomly at nearby civilian vehicles, but no casualties were
reported,” the source added.
Al Rashad:
#1: Two civilians
have been kidnapped by unknown gunmen in Kirkuk city, a local police
chief said on Tuesday. “A group of gunmen kidnapped two civilians near
al-Sud village of al-Rashad district (35 km southwest of Kirkuk city),”
Brig. Sarhad Qadir told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.The motivations
behind the kidnap remain unknown, the official said.
Kirkuk:
#1: One civilian
was killed and five were wounded on Monday in a sticky bomb explosion
in central Kirkuk, a source from the joint coordination center said. “A
bomb stuck to a vehicle went off in front of the Kirkuk province’s
building in central Kirkuk, killing a civilian and injuring five,” the
source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency, giving no more details.
#2: One civilian on Tuesday was killed inside his store in downtown Kirkuk city, according to a local source. “On Tuesday morning, unknown men killed a civilian with a sharp instrument inside his store on al-Jumhouriya St., downtown Kirkuk,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The victim was the only agent for Cork Telecom,” the source noted.
Mosul:
#1: Judge Mohammad Najem,
head of Mosul's Criminal Investigation Court, survived with wounds a
roadside bomb explosion near his car in northern Mosul on Monday night,
the source said. The blast wounded two of Najem's aides who were with
him in the car during the attack, the source added.
#2: Two gunmen were arrested Monday while attempting to launch two Katyusha rockets at an Iraqi military base in northern Mosul, a military source said. “A force from the 3rd brigade of the Quick Response Department (QRD) managed on Monday (June 15) to arrest two gunmen in al-Arabi neighborhood in northern Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The force seized also the two rockets,” he noted. “The rockets were prepared to be launched at al-Kindi base in northern Mosul, used by the 2nd division of the Iraqi army,” he also said.
#3: A civilian and a woman were wounded Tuesday by U.S. forces random fire in eastern Mosul, a medical source said. “One civilian and a woman were wounded when U.S. forces opened fire randomly in al-Adl neighborhood in eastern Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The two were in a bus when the forces opened fire on them,” he added. “The woman is a Mosul University employee,” he noted.
#4: Four people including a policeman were injured by a roadside bomb in Bab alTob area in downtown Mosul city on Tuesday afternoon.
Tal Afar:
#1: Unknown gunmen
on Monday blew up a store in Talafar district in northwest of Mosul,
the local police chief said. “Unknown gunmen planted a number of bombs
inside a store in al-Muthanna neighborhood in north of Talafar,
northwest of Mosul,” Colonel Ali Hadi Ubeid told Aswat al-Iraq news
agency.
Al Anbar Prv:
#1: A kidnapped cop
was killed on Monday in northern Ramadi, a media source said. “Police
forces found on Monday night (June 15) a body of a policeman one hour
after being kidnapped in front of his house in al-Jarayshi village in
northern Ramadi,” Major Raheem Zebn told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
