IMC Irl Group Blog of Events in Iraq and related.

international | anti-war / imperialism | news report Friday April 09, 2004 01:33 by *

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UPDATES 14TH APRIL

‘Fear Translating into Anger’
Democracy Now interviews Author Rahul Mahajan, one of the only western journalists who was inside Fallujah over the past few days. *****
"We were in Fallujah over part of Saturday, and Sunday morning before we left. I can tell you from whatever I have seen, there's a big controversy now with the Arab press, Al-Jazeera, in particular reporting U.S. atrocities and war crimes in Fallujah, and the U.S. press tamely reporting Brigadier General Mark Kim's claims no such thing is happening. I can tell you from what I have seen with my own eyes that Al-Jazeera is much closer to the truth."

Bush endorses Israeli West Bank Settlements *****
Promises to US Army Broken *****
Fallujah After the Seige Photoreport: Al Jazeera (Top Left Homepage) *****
Scary Press Conference: *****
US Democrat Radio: *****
"I've got some must-calls," Bush said, while inviting a question from a reporter named on his list. *****

14 April Update:

"After 14 years of searching for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, the US finally managed to discover huge caches in Fallujah. This discovery was of an unconventional weapon called popular resistance whose destructive capacity caught Uncle Sam completely by surprise." 'Hold Your Head High: You are in Fallujah' Continues . . 'DECISIVE FORCE' AND HAPPY PROFITEERS
As Occupation forces gather around Najaf and prepare to carry through the Bush Speech promise of 'Decisive Force' being used to crush the Insurgency and capture or kill al Sadr - a meeting of war profiteers is being prepared for in Portugal.

Illegal Collective Punishment
Concern in the Human Rights Community continues to grow with regard to the ongoing seige of Fallujah amidst a stream of eyewitness testimony suggesting that illegal collective punishment is taking place. Even sections of the Uk military are speaking out about the gung-ho attitude of the US military.

'Vietnam on Crack Cocaine'
The 'Vietnam' word and speculation about an upcoming Draft in the US will not go away even though this time around the media are far more restricted in reporting what is going on on the battlefield. Al Jazeera are now being referred to by the US Military as the 'anti-coalition media'. One commentator describes the potential for Iraq to become 'Vietnam on Crack Cocaine'. Bodies arriving back in the US are censored. Here is one photo that the majority of Americans are not being allowed to make up their own minds about.

Bush Speech
Reporter: "What was your biggest mistake after 9/11 and what did you learn from it?"
Bush: "I wish you had given me this written question ahead of time so I could plan for it. I am sure something will pop into my head here in a second."
Slightly Altered Audio of Bush Speech
'Bush Vows To Kill Everyone in Iraq'
Bush Speech analysis from the News Dissector

Ongoing Good Sources of Information on Developments
Empire Notes: Losing Hearts and Minds in Iraq
Juan Cole Blog
Guerilla News Network

News 10th-13th April>
Hundreds dead in Massacre in Fallujah - IMC-UK.
Audio report: Paola Gaspiroli interview - mp3 [9.6MB]
Journalist Naomi Klein and Photographer Andy Stern report from Baghdad
It goes on and on: Fallujah Update
Bush in Middle East this Week: Uncomfortable Visit to Egypt for Bush

EMERGENCY PROTESTS / BUSH ATTEMPTS TO DEFLECT GROWING CRITICISM / POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS

One year later as the mainstream media in Ireland and abroad continues to vacillate about calling a spade a spade - the US President reacts to problems with the US/UK occupation of Iraq and domestic concern about hundreds of dead troops and finally publicly visits his wounded soldiers. He spent the time of the Fallujah Massacre on holidays at his ranch and fishing (yes fishing) with the media.

Emergency Protests against the slaughter in Fallujah have begun to spring up Worldwide. It is unclear as yet whether or not these will continue or grow in scale. A clear unified reaction to political developments and a clear set of demands has yet to emerge from the Global Anti-War Movement. So what might those demands be? An informed debate on the Indymedia Ireland newswire has some food for thought on this issue. More food for thought is provided by a US Contractor and Iraqi civilians who have recently left Fallujah for Baghdad.

IRISH REACTION TO IRAQ EVENTS
We know Bertie ‘was always against the war’ already, we know that the Irish Times thinks life is going on as normal in many many parts of Iraq and that many many Iraqis are happy with the US Occupation and we know that the RTE TV news made no attempt at indicating the level of casualties being inflicted in Fallujah. Here are the reactions of some of those involved in Anti War activity in Ireland:

‘After the carnage, the US backs down; Irish anti war activists must oppose this onslaught now’ - Dominic Carroll (Clonakilty Against the War)

‘For the sake of the suffering Iraqi people we must hope that Iraqi resistance and protest here in the West force the us to pull out as quickly as possible’ : Richard Boyd Barrett - Irish Anti War Movement

‘Anti-War Ireland, a newly-formed coalition of anti-war groups, has condemned the collective punishment of civilians by us forces in Falluja and has called on Irish politicians to take a principled stand in condemning the actions of the occupation forces’ : Caoimhe Butterly - Anti War Ireland

"We are just carrying out our work as professionally as possible . . . "
The channel - Khanfar added, is probably the only media in Fallujah, where its correspondent seized hours of the channel’s air time to convey the deteriorating situation over the past few days. The correspondent in Fallujah said that even besieged local inhabitants of the town follow the latest developments in their bastion of resistance through al-Jazeera. Corpses are littered in the streets as U.S. warplanes hit the only hospital and other makeshift medical centers, he added. As Brig Gen Mark Kimmitt, the deputy director of U.S. military operations in Iraq, was speaking by phone on al-Jazeera and insisting that American forces declared a unilateral ceasefire in Fallujah, the channel was airing live images of continued air raids by F16 fighter jets on residential neighborhoods of the town. Kimmitt later dismissed the coverage of the channel for the crisis as a "series of lies". However, asked by al-Jazeera anchor about the live images, the U.S. commander said he was not accusing al-Jazeera of faking the images, but rather “looked at things differently”. He said the attacks by F16 fighter jets and helicopters were meant to take out “armed insurgents firing at our troops”. The anchor reminded Kimmitt, however, that “live coverage showed children and women killed by the missiles, not armed insurgents”. Observers see the U.S. highly unusual demand for al-Jazeera to leave Fallujah as a sign of crisis of credibility the U.S. forces face in the eyes of the Iraqis as well as people all over the Arab and Islamic world. US want Al Jazeera Out of Fallujah

Iraqi Governing Council - Member says 'This is Genocide'
"If they do not give us the possibility to enter Fallujah we will suspend our membership in the Governing Council" * "How can a superpower like the United States put itself in a state of war with a small city like Fallujah" * "This is Genocide"

'Occupation troops are again acting in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention.'
Reports that Occupation troops have refused entry to aid trucks carrying vitally-needed food, medicine and water into Faluja, coupled with testimonies on Arabic news networks that ambulances and civilian cars are being fired upon, would indicate that Occupation troops are again acting in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

The comments of US General Sanchez that the citizens of Falluja would have to choose whether to support the occupation forces or Iraqi fighters are another worrying insight into the occupying forces' attitude to civilians. Under international law, civilian nationals of an occupied country are protected persons regardless of their political views and cannot be ordered to support military forces. Anti War Ireland

Al-Sadr Wants a De-Escalation of Situation?
"We continue to demand the release of all those imprisoned, and the reopening of our newspaper. We urge that action be confined to peaceful retreats after the Friday prayers on 19 Safar 1425, in the Kufa Mosque only. All believing brethren in all the provinces must prepare to fulfill their religious duties through this sit-in, and to prevent enemies of Islam from infiltrating their ranks." April 9th 2004 entries

Lost between the East and the West
The number of Iraqis killed at Falluja in the last 6 days reached to 450, and another 1000 injured. Bombing the city with air fighters (F-16 and F-18) didn’t stop even after the announcement of the 24 hours suspension, Kimmitt says that today’s attacks are just for “self defense”. Kimmitt was creative today, I was watching an interview with him at AlJAzeera, where he stared for a couple of seconds and said: “duhm… Your correspondent at Faluja is reporting lies… dumhmh”!! What the!!! I mean!!! Look who’s talking!!! Even if AlJazeera are exaggerating and lying, and they are, how could someone like Rumsfeld or Kimmitt say a word about (lying)? They are the stars of the Liars Daily Show. The CPA and GC are falling apart, two Iraqi ministers resigned so far, the minister of foreign affairs yesterday, and the minister of the human rights today (Nori AlBadran and “Abd ElBaset” Turki). One of the few respected members of the GC, Mr. AlBachachi, called the American Army attacks on Falluja as “illegal”, he described what is going as a “collective punishment”. The Friday Prayer at Um AlMa`arek mosque was enormous, thousands and thousands of Iraqis came from all over Baghdad, and for the first time Iraqis have both Shia and Sunni speeches at the same mosque. The supreme Sunni board decided to ask Iraqis to go on strike next week. Majid, my brother, was there too. He says that when AsSadr representative gave his speech… people were shouting and yelling “Yes Yes for AsSadr”. I think this would confuse the Sunni/Shia vision of Bush and Bremer. raedinthemiddle.blogspot.com

Thirty-Three Ambulances have arrived from Baghdad . . . Some came under U.S. Sinper Fire
Reuters reported that up to six foreigners were taken captive in Abu Ghraib. There are reports that two are Italian and the rest American. Iraqi sources said they found a cache of weapons, including a sniper rifle, in the six foreigners' possession. Al Jazeerah confirmed that U.S. forces had indeed broken the ceasfire as an F-18 aerial bombardment preceded a U.S. Marine move into western entrance to Fallujah. Al Jazeerah TV showed a young boy with half his stomach torn out and several children wailing as doctors removed shrapnel from their heads. Unable to cover the violations committed by their forces in Fallujah, U.S. General Kimmit accused Al Jazeerah of lying and claimed the F-18 fired on Fallujah in self-defense. Al Jazeerah correspondent Ahmad Mansour claimed at 1pm EST that U.S. forces fired on his camera crew as they were filming events, forcing their retreat to safer quarters. Thirty-three ambulances have arrived from Baghdad, Iraqi sources have said, but some came under U.S. sinper fire. YELLOWTIMES.ORG : Firas al-Atraqchi

"They Get their Dead in Neat, Tidy Caskets Draped with a Flag and We Have to Gather and Scrape our Dead off the Floors"
"The American and European news stations don't show the dying Iraqis…the mother looking for some sign of her son in the middle of a puddle of blood and dismembered arms and legs… they don't show you the hospitals overflowing with the dead and dying because they don't want to hurt American feelings… but people *should* see it. You should see the price of your war and occupation- it's unfair that the Americans are fighting a war thousands of kilometers from home. They get their dead in neat, tidy caskets draped with a flag and we have to gather and scrape our dead off of the floors and hope the American shrapnel and bullets left enough to make a definite identification…One year later, and Bush has achieved what he wanted- this day will go down in history and in the memory of all Iraqis as one of the bloodiest days ever..." Baghdad Burning Weblog

Occupation Never a Comfortable One
'Opposing Saddam's tyranny was never the same thing as welcoming invasion and the tyranny of occupation.'

Reports from Iraq and our Need to Respond
Friends, Having no script from U.S. officials with which to “spin” the amazing events taking place in Iraq, mainstream news stories are unusually candid in conveying the ferocity with which the population of that nation is fighting to throw off the occupation of their land. After seeing nearly 2 million of they ‘re children killed by U.S./U.K. sanctions, the earth, air, and water, around them forever polluted by depleted uranium bombs and missiles unleashed on an almost defenseless nation in a clearly illegal, “preemptive” war of aggression, what human being should be surprised? And now we are attacking the cities and people this military adventure was supposedly meant to save? Indymedia.org: Jamie 09 Apr 2004 19:58 GMT

'On the anniversary of the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, Baghdad and parts of central Iraq were chaotic' U.S. AC-130 gunship raked insurgents Friday night after hundreds of women and children fled the besieged city of Fallujah during a U.S.-declared pause in the Marine offensive. < 'On the anniversary of the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, Baghdad and parts of central Iraq were chaotic' > At a square in the capital where Saddam's statue was toppled a year ago, soldiers took down a disturbing new icon: pictures of the radical Shiite cleric whose followers have risen up against coalition forces in the south.

AS REQUESTED BY GEORGE BUSH, THE IRAQI RESISTANCE HAVE 'BROUGHT IT ON'....
THE SHIITE REVOLT IS BROAD. High-level U.S. intelligence source cited in the NYT today say that the uprising against the Americans in Iraq is extending far beyond Al-Sadr's militia. Even Shiite moderates have been severely radicalized over the past few months, and it seems likely that the events of the past week have greatly increased that trend, say the intelligence officials. Only the Kurds are still passive.

US MEDICAL EVACUATIONS APPROACH 20% OF ALL TROOPS IN IRAQ. As of March 13th, the US military had made 18,004 medical evacuations during Operation Iraqi Freedom, representing 17.1% of the 105,000 'permanent' US force in Iraq (although the real number probably approaches 150,000). The figures were announced by the Pentagon's top health official, William Winkenwerder Jr., assistant secretary of defense for health affairs. The greatly increased fighting over the past month have clearly raised this percentage to at or above 20% of the official US force numbers in Iraq. That's TWENTY PERCENT.

THE IRAQI PUPPET GOVERNMENT IS SEVERELY WEAKENED. Despite steadfastly insisting on a "handover" of "sovereignty" on June 30th, the American administration still cannot say to whom "sovereignty" will be handed. Signs of the 'Governing Council's' collapse are everywhere. The Iraqi Justice Puppet ("Minister of Justice") Abdel-Rahim Al-Shibly had told national press that he had not been aware of any arrest warrant against Sadr. The Iraqi Interior Puppet ("Minister of Interior") Nuri Badran has resigned.

THE IRAQI POLICE & ARMY ARE IN DISARRAY AND REVOLT. The Iraqi Interior Puppet ("Minister of Interior") Nuri Badran resigned today, announcing that ""Bremer is not satisfied with the performance of the interior ministry". This is probably linked to the many reports that American-trained Iraqi police units have been fraternizing openly with Shiite militiamen, as well as with Sunni rebels battling US marines in Fallujah. Both Sunni and Shiite resistance fighters regularly use American-supplied Iraqi police vehicles in attacks against Americans.

THE AMERICAN "COALITION OF THE WILLING" IS DISBANDING. The coalition of countries that were persuaded by the US to send symbolic forces to Iraq are reconsidering. Reports about either announced withdrawals, reconsideration or poll-leading political opposition have been made in the past week in Spain, El Salvador, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Guatemala The Netherlands, South Korea, Poland, Thailand Australia, Japan, Norway and Kazakhstan. Inquiries into participation in the war are underway in the United Kingdom, Denmark, Australia and the United States. " < David C / IMC Ireland >

INTIFADA IRAQI STYLE: >
Naomi Klein and Andrew Stern report from Baghdad: April 9th 2004
For months the White House has been making ominous predictions of a civil war breaking out between the majority Shiites, who believe it's their turn to rule Iraq, and the minority Sunnis, who want to hold on to the privileges they amassed under Hussein's regime. But this week the opposite appears to have taken place. Both Sunni and Shiite have seen their neighbourhoods attacked and their religious sites desecrated. Up against a shared enemy, they are beginning to bury ancient rivalries and join forces against the occupation. Instead of a civil war, they are on the verge of building a common front. You could see it at the mosques in Sadr City on Thursday: thousands of Shiites lined up to donate blood, destined for Sunnis hurt in the attacks in Fallouja. “We should thank Paul Bremer,” Salih Ali told me. “He has finally united Iraq. Against him.” Continues

9th April 2004 The War's One Simple Truth: Robert Fisk
US Domestic Support For Iraq War Eroding
450 Dead in Fallujah: US Want Al Jazeera Out of Town
USK Supply Lines under attack
Discipline is slipping in the forces and it reminds one of the Viet-Nam pictures of old.
Polish Forces Marooned and bewildered
OCCUPATION WATCH / EMERGENCY CALL FOR SOLIDARITY WITH THE IRAQI PEOPLE
IAWM: MASS POPULAR REVOLT NAILS LIE ABOUT US “LIBERATION” OF IRAQ
Americans and Italians Kidnapped in Baghdad
al-Sadr: "I don't care what the Americans say, and I never did. I listen only to the Iraqi people"
all the shops suddenly closed because of a wave of fear that something bad was going to happen
Even The US Lackeys See Fallujah as Illegal and Wrong – Military age men Cannot Leave
Warheads want More war: "Tehran," he said, "is a city just waiting for us."
'will eventually turn into an unstoppable war of liberation'
Iraq as a Chechnya for the US?

April 8th 2004

Will Bush Flatten Fallujah?
5 Marines Down: All 18 Years Old
Price of gas is Up
'the smallest glimpse of what a real movement would feel like'
Superimposed text reads: "Get the infidels out of the Arab Peninsula."
Let me Draw You a Map
Anti-War Ireland Condemns Collective Punishment in Fallujah / Condemns US Onslaught
Radio Report from Michael Birmingham in Baghdad
Bush Visit: IAWM, Anti-War Ireland, Ambush 2004! Must Liaise
Fact: The Americans are losing in Iraq
300 Dead in Fallujah: Collective Punishment US Style
Mass grave of Insurgents/Civilians found in Ramadi Wedensday
'Withdraw your troops or we will burn them alive and feed them to the fighters'
Thousands of Shia and Sunni Marching on Fallujah with Aid
Reports from Iraq are coming out of Pentagon Press offices
Vietnam Again
Middle East Press Summary of Opinions on Iraq Developments
''We are sorry that our President is an idiot. We didn't vote for him.''
Mercenaries Repel Attack on U.S. Headquarters
‘We faced a force of four to five hundred rebels’

"Here are a Few Things to Think About:

-The US/UK has 150,000 troops in Iraq, yet in only a year they have had more than 18,000 medical evacuations. -Despite suffering many casualties, the resistance is fully as active now as it was a year ago. It has not been diminished even slightly. It also has the initiative. -The resistance have the support of significant numbers of Iraqis (again, 61% want the US out of Iraq, 21% approve of the attacks), which is why they are so successful. -Political and diplomatic support in the US/UK and internationally is in freefall (no WMDs = "why are we here?"), as major administration officials like Clark and Powell question the rationale for war and as 'coalition partners' bail out.

I think that the Iraqi Resistance will win. I think that the US will be kicked out of Iraq, that they will have little influence on Iraq's Government and that they will have no permanent bases in Iraq. I am fully behind the rebuilding of Iraq and I expect the US to pay for it. But I would also like to see the US so hurt and humiliated by its experience in Iraq that it thinks very, very, very carefully before doing anything like this ever again. I would also like to see the folly of this war so blatantly demonstrated to the entire world that no country will ever again sign up for an 'American-Led Coalition' without a clear international mandate. That would make the World (and America) a much safer place." < David C - From The Comments >

April 7th 2004

Can Chaos in Iraq Benefit Multinational Corporations? Of course it can.
‘Resistance Limited to certain Cities’ says CPA: 75% of Iraqis live in those Cities.
Some of these corpses look a little young to be armed terrorist insurgents
President Bush Discusses Iraq, 911 Commission with Reporters>
The 'Coalition' of the Bullied and the Bribed is Falling Apart: Five and Counting
AsSadr is NOT reflecting a minority of Iraqis, this is a stupid big lie.
'And as I blog this, all the mosques, Sunni and Shi’a alike, are calling for Jihad...'
Heard what happened in Fallujah a couple of days before the Mercenaries got hit?
Indymedia/Naomi Kline Photo Essay and Report from Sadr City
Bring Haliburton Home, Ditch the Deals, Tear up the Rules
Iraq Intifada: Sunni and Shia Unite: Indymedia Feature
The only position that makes sense is to demand Troops Out Now
Republicans label Kennedy a ‘Defeatist’ without reading his speech?
American Public worry about gas prices not Iraq - Ironic
Why all the Unconvincing Crap about a Civil War: An Excuse for USA to Stay?