Sadr City Residents Warned to Leave;

AFP reports, "25 killed as Rockets Shatter Basra Calm." Shiite guerrillas fired a barrage of rockets at the British base out at the airport in Basra, killing two civilians. There was retaliatory fighting in Basra that left more dead.

Tina Susman of the LAT has some fun with the Bush administration's fixation on Iran as a source of weapons and trouble in Iraq. She notes a major embarrassment last week when a cache of supposedly Iranian weapons seized in the Shiite holy city of Karbala turned out to be no such thing. The US military had just taken the word for it of local Karbala police. She says that this week when the Pentagon gave its overview of captured weapons, all of a sudden there was no mention of Iran at all.

The Iraqi military has warned civilians to leave the vast slum of Sadr City, apparently in preparation for a massive government assault on the Mahdi Army militia based there. Since slum dwellers notoriously lack the means to leave their slums, this call seems more likely to be for the sake of appearances than a realistic expectation. When thousands are massacred in the course of a military attack on a densely packed civilian area, the authorities will be able to say that they gave fair warning. Although the US demonizes the Mahdi Army, Many Sadr City residents view it as in part a charitable organization, and they also are often grateful for the security it provides. It is not as if the federal government is providing security.

Saddam Hussein was the Iraqi leader who invented the technique of ethnically cleansing rebellious populations as a way of making his rule stick. He did it to the Marsh Arabs in the south and also to Kurds in the north. The US has already either conducted or allowed ethnic cleansing in Falluja and West Baghdad. It now seems set to empty out the east of the capital.

Apparently the fractious, RPG-wielding slum dwellers are getting in the way of the planned Green Zone golf course, so they have to be removed.

You know some British colonial administrators were still planning new cricket fields in India in 1946.

Al-Hayat reports in Arabic that the Iraqi parliament took up the conflict between PM Nuri al-Maliki and the Sadr Movement and President Jalal Talabani's initiative to resolve it. At the same time, the two sides seemed to get farther apart, with al-Maliki continuing to insist on the disarming of the Mahdi Army militia. Talabani's plan called for a first step of the militiamen pledging not to carry arms in public in Baghdad and troubled areas in the south. The Talabani plan may soon be voted on by parliament, but it is opposed by the Sadr Bloc of MPs.

Al-Hayat also reports on a planned meeting of al-Maliki with Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi of the Iraqi Islamic Party, a component of the (Sunni fundamentalist) Iraqi Accord Front. Al-Hashimi is said to be set to rejoin the government. The proposed list of cabinet members from the IAF has not been accepted by al-Maliki. Dissent has broken out, however, in the Dialogue Council of Khalaf al-`Ulyan, one of the three components of the Iraqi Accord Front.

McClatchy reports political violence for Thursday.

' Baghdad

1 Katyusha rocket slammed into the Green Zone at 9 am Thursday. No casualties were reported.

2 Katyusha rockets slammed into the street next to al-Nasr cinema, Sadoon Street, central Baghdad killing 2 civilians, injuring 2 others and causing material damage to several civilian cars.

A roadside bomb exploded in Humat al-Watan intersection near Shaab stadium, east Baghdad. It targeted an Iraqi Army patrol injuring 5 servicemen.

An adhesive IED in a Kia minibus exploded killing 1 civilian, severely injuring 5 others. The incident took place in Zayuna neighbourhood, near the traffic fly over at around 3 pm Thursday.

A roadside bomb exploded behind the National Theatre in Karrada, central Baghdad injuring 3 civilians.

A parked car bomb exploded targeting a police patrol in Mansour neighbourhood, west Baghdad, near Samad restaurant in Rowad intersection at 5 pm Thursday. The explosion killed 3 policemen and 4 civilians and injured 2 policemen and 17 civilians amongst whom were 2 women and 1 child. The location is a central commercial centre and the explosion resulted in burning 4 civilian cars completely as well as the police vehicle in addition to extensive material damages to 10 stores and completely destroying the restaurant.

A roadside bomb exploded in Jihad neighbourhood, near Mohammed Rasool Allah Mosque at 7 pm injuring 7 civilians.

4 unidentified bodies were found in Baghdad today by Iraqi Police. 1 in Nahdha; 1 in Dola’I and 2 in Abu Disheer.

Salahuddin

Suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt detonated targeting mulla Nathim al-Juboor, head of Dhuluiayah Sahwa, a US supported militia, in Khazraj area, 5 km to the north of the town of Dhuluiayah. The mulla was in a motorcade with the Chief of Police and the District Commissioner of Dhuluiyah on a tour of reconstruction projects. This is the second assassination attempt he survives with only superficial injuries.

Basra

Violent clashes broke out between the security forces and gunmen in al-Askari neighbourhood, Zubair district 35 km t the west of Basra city after many Katyusha rockets were fired targeting a Notional Police camp in Zubair. The fighting continues and no casualties report was available at time of publication.'

Sunni Kuwaiti Cleric Differentiates between Iraqi Shia Nationalists and those Supporting Iran

The USC Open Source Center translates a statement by a Sunni Salafi cleric in Kuwait that allows that some Arab Shiites in Iraq are "honorable" but not those allied with Iran.


Kuwaiti Shaykh Differentiates Between Iraqi Shia Supporting, Opposing Iran
Jihadist Websites -- OSC Summary
Wednesday, May 7, 2008 . . .

Terrorism: Kuwaiti Shaykh Differentiates Between Iraqi Shia Supporting, Opposing Iranian 'Plan'

On 24 April, a forum participant "Al-Ikhwani al-Salafi" posted to a jihadist website a question addressed to Kuwaiti pro-jihad [Sunni] Shaykh Hamid al-Ali about the differences among the Shia in Iraq. Shaykh Hamid al-Ali responds by stating that it is very important to differentiate between those supporting and opposing the Iranian 'plan' in Iraq. This is because differences with the former can be resolved through dialogue, whereas the Iranian plan needs dealing with in another manner.

A translation of the questions and answer follows:


"In the name of God the Merciful, the Compassionate.

"Shaykh Hamid al-Ali responds to a question in regards to the honorable Arab Shia.

"I spoke of two or three topics concerning the honorable Arab Shia who stand against the Safavid expansion. I asked the [Sunni] Association of Muslim Scholars regarding the revealing of names of the honorable Shia, who are a few in number. This is because, according to the principle that says 'ask the knowledgeable,' I asked Shaykh Hamid al-Ali, may God protect him, about the Arab Shia. His response was brief and clear. I will leave the comments to you.

"The question: Honorable shaykh, God knows how I love you in God. I want your opinion with regards to the honorable Arab Shia.

"First, what is your opinion concerning some of the Shiite leadership in Iraq such as Al-Husni al-Baghdadi, Shaykh Al-Mu'ayyid, and Shaykh Al-Khalissi. This is especially since Al-Sistani and Al-Hakim are angry with the three of them and they have been expelled from Iraq. Meanwhile, their followers are being sent to prison because of their stances regarding the American occupation and the Safavid Iranian occupation.

"Shaykh Al-Mu'ayyid forbids the vilification and slandering of the companions of the Prophet. Hence, is it legitimate to support them or pray for their guidance, especially since the Sunni Association of Muslim Scholars stated that those people shared a similar stance as theirs? Is cooperation with them in fighting the Iranian and American occupation legitimate?

"Second, what is the shaykh's opinion on the Arab Shiite Southern Tribes Council that is funded by the Sunni Association of Muslim Scholars and headed by Shaykh Harith al-Dari? Iran has killed 37 Shiite tribal chiefs because they were against its perverse attitudes. Is not fighting Iran and America a proof of their honesty? Is what the Association of Muslim Scholars is doing in opening lines of communication with them legitimate?

"Please respond to me because many people inside and outside Iraq are interested in the subject.



"Response of Shaykh Hamid al-Ali:

"I mentioned in the Al-Jazirah meeting that it is imperative to differentiate between the Shiite ideology and the Safavid political plan.

"Regarding the honorable Shia in Iraq who have stood against the Safavid [i.e. Iranian] plan, our differences with them are ideological and can be resolved through dialogue, as always has been the case throughout the history of our nation.

"As for the advocates of the Safavid [Iranian] plan, and I do not know to which of the Shiite scholars you referred in Iraq, this plan is a destructive danger and there is another way of dealing with it. If they really are against the Safavid plan, the people of Iraq should benefit from all communities in the society who are against the American and Safavid occupiers. Without doubt, Shaykh Harith al-Dari is a trustworthy personality, is honorable, and has solid and good stances; hence, his opinion should be taken with regards to the Shia who are against the Safavid occupation. God is All-Knowing.

"The words of Shaykh (Hamid al-Ali) have come to a close. Those who do not believe need to ask him once more online."

US Soldier Killed in al-Anbar; Sadrist MP Resigns; Army Arrests Police

The killing of a US soldier in al-Anbar province by Iraqi guerrillas was announced on Wednesday morning.

The Scotsman reports:

' IRAQI soldiers yesterday detained dozens of policemen and closed down a hospital suspected of treating Shiite militiamen in a Baghdad stronghold of cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army. '

It doesn't seem to me like a good sign when you have to arrest your police because they are disloyal to the government.


Another contingent of 3500 US troops is being withdrawn from Iraq, drawing back down the 30,000 that had been sent in winter, 2007, as part of Bush's troop escalation or 'surge.' Although from September of last year through February, these extra troops had some impact on reducing (not eliminating) civilian casualties in Baghdad, as they have withdrawn the numbers of Iraqis killed each month as spiked.

AFP also reports:

' On the political front, an Iraqi lawmaker whose party is loyal to anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, resigned on Tuesday protesting the violence in Baghdad's Sadr City where street battles claim a daily death toll.

"I announce the suspension of my membership in protest at what is happenning in Sadr city," Hassan Al-Rubaie said. "The religious and political leaderships in Iraq are responsible for the violations that happen in Sadr City."

He acted even as President Jalal Talabani made a fresh appeal to the militia to lay down its arms and allow essential supplies to get into the Sadr City, parliamentary officials said.'

I take away from these grafs that Iraqi politics is in danger of collapsing. Not that many members of parliament come to the sessions, and if you start having any number of resignations, even getting a quorum may be difficult. There doesn't seem to be a mechanism for holding by-elections, so the seat that was resigned will probably remain empty until the next parliamentary elections.

Also, President Talabani's statement unwittingly reveals that essential supplies are not getting into Sadr City and suggests that al-Maliki and the US are holding the civilian population hostage as a way of putting pressure on the Mahdi Army.



Saddam Hussein was germophobic in the extreme. I personally wonder whether this neurosis did not underlie his various genocides. He probably thought the people he was killing were diseased and making his country dirty. It was also a motivation for building all those presidential palaces, which were intended to be islands of cleanliness in a dirty country. He admitted as much to US troops and gave fear of their being polluted as his reason for not having allowed UN inspectors into them. I.e., his germophobia helped get him overthrown and hanged. In absolute dictatorships, the neuroses of the great leader become the neuroses of the nation.

Nir Rosen on selling war on Iran.

Astore at Tomdispatch on air power.

Khatami's Charges Provoke Row in Iran; how Important is Iranian and Hizbullah Training

Former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami has caused a firestorm of criticism in Iran. AFP writes:

' In his speech, Khatami referred to the ambition of Iran's revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to export the 1979 Islamic revolution around the world, but expressed fear this wish was being distorted. "What did the imam (Khomeini) mean by exporting the revolution?" he asked in the speech Friday to university students in the northern province of Gilan, according to the Kargozaran newspaper. "Did he mean that we take up arms, that we blow up places in other nations and we create groups to carry out sabotage in other countries? The imam was vehemently against this and was confronting it," he added. His speech has been seen by some observers as accusing the Iranian authorities of encouraging militants to destabilize the Middle East, in particular Iraq and Lebanon. '

Some hard liners want to try Khatami for treason.

Al-Hayat reports in Arabic that Sunni tribes have offered to mediate between the al-Maliki government and the Sadr Movement.

It also refers to Monday's Pentagon-provoked story saying that Hizbullah of Lebanon is training Shiite radicals at camps in Iran.

I am suspicious of this story not because it is necessarily untrue (how would I know?) but because it shares with typical Bush administration propaganda the 'gotcha' technique in which questions of proportionality, significance and causality do not arise.

Thus, Dick Cheney repeatedly claimed that he had evidence that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, whom he simplistically linked with al-Qaeda, got hospital treatment in Baghdad. Cheney said that would have been impossible unless Saddam was actively hosting him. And if Saddam was giving hospital treatment to al-Zarqawi, then ipso facto the Baath regime was allied with and supporting al-Qaeda.

But Cheney's entire argument is false from beginning to end. First of all, the Iraqi secret police put out an APB on al-Zarqawi when they thought he had entered their country, and were clearly afraid of him. There is no evidence that the regime afforded al-Zarqawi hospital care. Even if he had gotten treated, it was not proof of Saddam's complicity with him or with al-Qaeda. These little tiny details were built up into a narrative that was intended to carry the audience along without their being able to ask any questions about it. How good was the proof for what Cheney alleged? Was al-Zarqawi really al-Qaeda back then? How important was he? How big an impact did his presence in Iraq have?

There were also repeated allegations from Cheney and others that Saddam was training al-Qaeda operatives at Salman Pak. Wrong.

Under torture, Ibn al-Sheikh Libi told the US that Saddam was training al-Qaeda operatives in the use of poison gas. It was a lie. That is the problem with putting people in so much pain that they will tell you anything. Cheney and Rice parroted this falsehood over and over again.

After the war and occupation began, Pentagon spokesmen actually alleged that 90% of the violence in Iraq was committed by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and his group. But what, was he an Arab version of the Flash, able to run from Mosul to Baghdad in a few minutes? And when he was killed, nothing changed, so he wasn't all that important.

Since Cheney and Rice wanted to go to war with Iraq so as to open its petroleum resources to exploitation by American firms, it really was immaterial to them if the things they were saying were true or not. They have never evinced any shame or regret. They are happy. They accomplished their goal.

We should not allow this sort of thing to happen again. The Pentagon story about Iran is fishy for these reasons:

The main pro-Iran militia in Iraq is the Badr Corps of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq. Iran is happy with Badr's vast influence. Badr has conflicts with the Mahdi Army. Why should Iran undermine its own client by favoring the latter? And note that the US never condemns Badr, which until recently was actually part of the Iranian military.

The information on the supposed Hizbullah training in Iran seems to have come from two or three captured Lebanese Shiites. That is a very small number. The US has 24,000 accused insurgents in captivity. If it only has a handful of Lebanese Shiites, then they just aren't very important. The Principle of Proportionality holds.

Moreover, the allegations may have been produced by US torture of the captives and so may not be reliable.

Then even if it were true, how important is it? The Mahdi Army is tens of thousands of slum kids. Sadrism goes back to the 1990s in Iraq and is a mass movement. Iran had nothing to do with them historically. Moreover, how important is all this? Have, like, 4 Lebanese guys really trained all that many Mahdi Army militiamen? How many exactly? How much more effective would they be as a result? Wouldn't the political support of millions of Iraqi Shiites in the South really be the source of Muqtada al-Sadr's power and authority?

What is being alleged is too small to produce a really big, nation-wide effect in Iraq. The Mahdi Army fought the US military for two long hard months in spring of 2004, and for another month in August. Iran was not around.

Occam's Razor dictates that we do not need Iran as a hypothesis for explaining the Sadr Movement or its activities in Iraq. Behind the scenes opinion polling suggests that the Sadr Movement has become more and more popular with the electorate. This, despite Iran's having helped buy the election for the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq in 2005. Having gotten their clients in power, why would Iran now try to blow up Badr commanders who have become provincial governors or deputy governors.

The Sadrists are not even very strong in Basra city, which is one reason al-Maliki attacked them there. Iran was backing Badr in Basra.

If training is so important, then why does the Mahdi Army still defeat the highly trained and equipped Iraqi Army, which has had lots more training, often from high powered American and European and Jordanian trainers. Are you saying Iranian trainers are better? How would you fix that?

So, have a few hundred militiamen maybe gotten some basic guerrilla training from fellow Shiites somewhere? That isn't the right question. The question is, how significant would that be if true. Remember, they are getting real time battle experience against US Marines, which is much more valuable than mere rudimentary boot camp. But, how could you rule it out? And, could such a thing really steer the fortunes of Iraq as a country? I think not.

McClatchy reports political violence in Iraq on Monday:

' Baghdad

Two policemen were wounded when gunmen opened fire targeting a police patrol in Bab al Sheikh neighborhood in downtown Baghdad on Sunday evening.

At least six civilians were killed and 31 others wounded in the American strikes on Sadr City in northeast Baghdad on Monday morning, medical sources in the hospitals of Sadr city said.

Five people were killed including three members of one family (parents and their child) and eight others were wounded when the American forces bombed Amil neighborhood in west Baghdad. The US military said in an e-mailed statement that the American soldiers responded to an attack from one of the buildings, killing three insurgents.

Two civilians were wounded in a bomb explosion near the oil marketing office in Zayuna neighborhood in east Baghdad around 8:30 p.m.

Police found four unidentified bodies throughout Baghdad in the following neighborhood (1 body in Husseiniyah, 1 body in Palestine Street, 1 body in Bayaa and 1 body in Amil)

Diyala

Gunmen kidnapped three truck drivers while they were coming from Khanaqin town towards Qara Tabba area, 93 miles northeast of Baquba city on Monday morning.

Seven Iraqi soldiers were wounded in a roadside bomb that targeted their patrol in Qara Tabba area around 12:00 p.m.

Three policemen were wounded in a roadside bomb explosion that targeted their patrol in Baladroz town 28 miles east of Baquba around 11:15 a.m.

Three members of the Kurdish security forces known as Bashmarga were wounded in a roadside bomb explosion that targeted their patrol on the road between Qara Tabba village and Hibhib village north of Baquba, lieutenant General Hameed Hussein fro n the Neshmarga brigade said, Clashes took place after the explosion but no casualties reported.

Gunmen attacked a check point of the Iraqi army in al Maiyah area in Mandili city, 40 miles east of Baquba city around 7:30 p.m. the gunmen killed ten soldiers then beheaded them. One civilian was wounded in the incident.

Kirkuk

A policeman from Kirkuk Emergency Police was killed and seven others were wounded in a roadside bomb that targeted their patrol near the street leading to the airport on Monday morning.

Nineveh

A roadside bomb exploded in al Masarif neighborhood in downtown Mosul city on Monday afternoon. No casualties reported.

Police found an unidentified body in al Ma’arif neighborhood in downtown Mosul city on Monday afternoon.

Gunmen opened fire randomly in al Mamoun neighborhood in downtown on Monday afternoon injuring one civilian. '

OSC: Al-Arabiya discusses Iraq government, Al-Sadr Trend criticism of Iran role

The USG Open Source Center translates a discussion on al-Arabiya's Panorama program about Iranian intervention in Iraq.

May 5, 2008 Monday

Al-Arabiya discusses Iraq government, Al-Sadr Trend criticism of Iran role

["Panorama" programme moderated by Muntaha al-Ramahi discusses Iran's intervention in Iraq, the Iraqi Government's escalatory tone against Iran, Al-Sadr Trend's criticism of Iran - live]

Dubai Al-Arabiya Television in Arabic at 1915 gmt on 4 May carries within its live "Panorama" news programme a 25-minute discussion, moderated by anchorwoman Muntaha al-Ramahi, on the Iraqi Government's and the Al-Sadr Trend's recent criticism of Iran's interference in Iraq. The guests on the programme are Abd-al-Karim al-Inizi, member of the Iraqi Parliament representing the Unified Iraqi Coalition, via satellite from Baghdad; political analyst Ambassador Mohammed Shariati, via satellite from Tehran; and former Iraqi Minister of Transportation Salam al-Maliki, via telephone from Basra.

Al-Ramahi begins by saying that although "intermittent clashes" continue between the Iraqi security forces assisted by US forces and the supporters of Shi'i leader Muqtada al-Sadr, both sides criticize Iran and "hold it responsible for the incidents in Iraq." She adds that the current Iraqi Government's position has changed towards Iran, and that it has begun "to directly accuse Iran of fanning violence in Iraq." She notes that a huge amount of Iranian weapons has been revealed in addition to documents that indict Iran in this regard. Al-Ramahi says that observers were surprised to hear Salih al-Ubaydi, spokesman for the Al-Sadr Trend, strongly criticize Iran. She notes that the recent criticism coincides with former Iranian President Khatami's criticism of the Iranian regime, in which he stressed that exporting violence to other countries, which he did not name, is "treason against Islam and the Iranian Revolution."

Al-Ramahi poses the following questions: Why has the Iraqi Government decide to open the file of Iran's intervention in Iraq at this time in particular? Why did the Al-Sadr Trend, which is protected by Iran, criticize Iran? Did Khatami mean Iran's intervention in Iraq or in other countries?

The programme then presents a three-minute report by Najah Muhammad Ali. Ali says that when the United States accused Iran of interfering in Iraq to undermine its stability, Iran's supporters in the Iraqi Government, including the president and the prime minister, did not hesitate to defend Iran. However, he says that the situation changed following Operation Charge of the Knights in Basra and the international conference that was held recently in Kuwait. He adds that Iraqi Prime Minister Al-Maliki and his supporters have launched an unprecedented campaign against Iran without naming it. Moreover, he says that the Iraqi Government has been declaring on a daily basis the arrest of fighters supported by Iran and the discovery of Iranian weapons. Ali notes that the Al-Sadr Trend has launched a similar campaign against Iran. He adds that the Iraqi Government accuses Iran of being responsible for the security developments in Baghdad, particularly in Al-Sadr City. Moreover, he says that the US Army and Iraqi security officials accuse the Al-Mahdi Army of being behind the attacks on the Green Zone. Ali says that the Kuwait international conference failed because Al-Maliki failed to convince the Arabs to reopen their embassies and to write off Iraq's debts. Hence, he says that Al-Maliki had to criticize Iran in order to gain Arab support, and that the Iraqi Foreign Ministry's statement on the three disputed islands between Iran and the UAE falls within this context. Ali notes former Iranian President Khatami's remarks in which he said that "exporting violence to other countries is treason against Islam and the Islamic Revolution." He concludes by wondering if the Iraqis in the post-Saddam government "have become fed up with remaining under the Iranian cloak," or if Iran's intervention in Iraq has crossed all limits.

Asked to comment on the current situation and on the position towards Iran, Al-Inizi says that the new Iraqi policy in the new Iraqi regime "relies on the principle of convincing others to cooperate, because cooperation will be in the interest of all parties." He notes that although hundreds of terrorists have entered Iraq, Iraq has not accused any Arab regime of being behind them because it believes in the need to cooperate with all neighbouring countries and to convince them of the need to cooperate. He says that he believes the current escalation towards Iran is a "deviation from the norms of Iraq's policy" and a result of US diplomatic efforts to drive a wedge between the Iraqi Government and its neighbour, Iran.

Al-Ramahi notes that the Al-Sadr Trend, which is supposed to be supported by Iran, also criticizes Iran.

Addressing Shariati, Al-Ramahi asks him to comment on the change in Iraq's position towards Iran. Shariati says that the official Iranian position continues to support Nuri al-Maliki's government. He refers to the statements made by the Iranian ambassador in Iraq, in which he expressed support for the disarming of militias in Iraq but urged dialogue. With regard to the Al-Sadr Trend, Shariati says we must "discriminate between a sector of the Iraqi people and a political idea that is suspicious of the occupation. We must respect this position."

Al-Ramahi refers to Khatami's remarks, and says that political observers consider them as "clear criticism of the conservative trend led by Ahmadinezhad." She asks if Khatami's remarks indicate that "Iran is involved in files outside Iran." Shariati says that reformists consider some of Iran's foreign policy unacceptable. However, he says that Khatami talked about deviations from the course of the Iranian Revolution but did not mention Iraq, Lebanon, or any other country. He notes that when Khatami was president he did not receive Muqtada al-Sadr due to reservations about his actions and role in Iraq.

Asked if Khatami meant Iraq in particular, Shariati says that he certainly did not mean Iraq because the situation there is unclear.

Asked if Khatami meant Lebanon or Palestine, Shariati says: "We believe we should have diplomatic relations, and hold parallel relations with groups, and that these groups must not be involved in internal conflicts because the involvement of the groups supported by Iran in internal conflicts would embroil Iran and its foreign policy."

Addressing former Iraqi Minister Salam al-Maliki, Al-Ramahi asks him to comment on the change in the Al-Sadr Trend's position. Al-Maliki says that the issue of Iran's intervention in Iraq and its support for the Al-Sadr Trend does not exist in reality. He admits that there are accusations, but argues that the Al-Sadr Trend's positions in the political process are "independent."

Interrupting, Al-Ramahi says that Salam al-Malik's remarks are surprising, because even Iranians talk about Iran's intervention in Iraq. Al-Maliki says that there is clear intervention, but that he is talking about the Al-Sadr Trend's position and Iran's support for the Al-Sadr Trend. He adds that the Iraqi Government must determine whether the Iranian role is positive or negative. He says that the Iraqi Government's spokesman said that the government needs to verify the situation, but that military officials have openly accused Iran of intervention. Al-Maliki stresses that problems must not be resolved through the media. He says that the problem is that the Iraqi Government "has not yet drawn its foreign policy in a clear manner." He argues that the United States encouraged Iran to interfere in Iraq in light of its hostile position towards Iran which prompted it to defend itself and its presence. Al-Maliki stresses that Iran's role must be in support of the Iraqi people, and that any problem with any neighbouring country must be resolved through diplomatic means, not media outlets. He stresses that Al-Sadr Trend is not supported by Iran because Muqtada al-Sadr's decisions are not influenced by foreign pressure; that Iran's role in Iraq is not new; and that it was encouraged by the United States.

Asked about Iran's support for the Al-Sadr Trend and how Iran can have "positive intervention" in Iraq, Shariati begins by noting that the headquarters of the Islamic Supreme Council and the Al-Da'wah Party were in Iran before the fall of Saddam Husayn. He argues that some internal disputes in Iraq are not the result of Iran's intervention. With regard to the militias' issue, he says that Iran must interfere and use its influence over all trends.

Al-Ramahi notes that the Iraqi Government criticizes Iran's intervention even though it encompasses parties that are supported by Iran. Shariati says that Iran has relations with various parties, and that it "must make use of its influence to calm the Iraqi arena." Shariati leaves the programme at this point.

Addressing Al-Inizi, Al-Ramahi says that even Iranians say that Iran must use its influence in Iraq to achieve stability and security. Hence, she notes that Iraq is being used by Iran as a card to acquire certain gains with regard to its relations with the West. She asks if the time is suitable for Iran to calm the situation in Iraq. Al-Inizi says that the Iraqi policy is based on cooperation with neighbouring countries and on convincing them to support the Iraqi Government. He says that the current escalation towards Iran indicates the success of the US policy that aims to use Iraq as a tool in its conflict with Iran. He urges the Iraqi Government not to fall into the trap, and to work hard with Iran in order to achieve security, political, and economic cooperation.

Asked why he accuses the United States of pushing the Iraqi Government towards adopting an escalatory position against Iran, Al-Inizi says that Iran was among the first to support the Iraqi Government and that it has strategic alliances with the ruling political forces. Hence, he argues that it is in Iran's interest to see the government of its allies succeed. Therefore, he says that Iraq must not be part of the US-Iranian conflict, and that Iraq must convince the Iranians that any intervention must be positive and constructive.

Al-Ramahi argues that Iraq's "escalatory tone" will not convince Iran to play a different role. Al-Inizi agrees and says that the Iraqi Government has deviated from the norms of its foreign policy. He urges Iraq to address neighbouring countries with a language that encourages cooperation, and to maintain positive and constructive relations with Iran.

Al-Ramahi says that Iran supports the disarming of militias in Iraq, but rejects the use of force. She asks if this has resulted in the change in the Al-Sadr Trend's position. Al-Maliki

says that the Iranian Government has not accused the Al-Sadr Trend of being a militia. He notes that the issue of militias, including the Al-Mahdi Army, is complicated because some groups carry arms to defend the Iraqi people and expel the occupiers, which is legitimate, while other groups seek to undermine stability.

With regard to the Al-Mahdi Army, Al-Ramahi says that the Iraqi Government, Iran, and the US forces want to disarm it. She asks if a settlement can be reached in this regard. Al-Maliki notes the absence of dialogue. He says that the Al-Sadr Trend believes in dialogue to resolve all problems, and that the problem is that the Iraqi Government is not holding dialogue. He notes that everyone is calling for disarming all militias, but that the existence of occupation forces that attack civilians and the absence of dialogue with the government complicate the situation.

Concluding the episode, Al-Ramahi thanks her guests.

Source: Al-Arabiya TV, Dubai, in Arabic 1904 gmt 4 May 08

Iraq First Lady Narrowly Escapes death; Baghdad Equivocates on Role of Iran

A roadside bomb almost killed Iraq's first lady on Sunday in Baghdad, striking her car and wounding three of her bodyguards.

Bush is asking for another $70 bn. for next year, most of it for the Iraq War. Will the next president have the courage to put the war in the regular budget and not disguise the costs as a "supplemental"? (Even a lot of smart people get fooled by this, talking about how the budget deficit shrank, even as they neglected to include the war expenses.)

CSM reports on the way the Iraqi government is in between the US and Iran and says it lacks hard proof of Iranian interference. It is forming a commission to look into the matter. Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said at his first Sunday news conference that there is no hard evidence that the Iranian government is sending in arms to destabilize Iraq.

The headline writer of the Washington Post took the low road. Dabbagh met a second time on Sunday with reporters to clarify the issue of Iranian arms in Iraq. He said that there were certainly Iranian weapons in Iraq, but the question was where they came from. The Post headline tries to make it look as though Dabbagh was accusing the Iranian government; he was simply leaving open the possibility. Check into who wrote the headline. It will be revealing.

After all, Iran has a well developed criminal black market in arms (Ronald Reagan once got involved in it). So the presence of Iran-made weapons proves nothing about Iranian government intentions. The ayatollahs in Tehran have been openly siding with the al-Maliki government against the Mahdi Army militia.

Tom Engelhardt on the Iraq War as endless war.

Yahoo and Microsoft are forbidding Iranians to sign up for email services as Iranians. They have erased that country from their list of possible nationalities.

John Mearsheimer corrects the NYT review of Benny Morris's 1948. The review repeats a lot of old discredited chestnuts about the 1948 war. The Arab governments did not call on the Palestinians to leave, guys. There is no transcript of any such transmission in any archive. Nor would it make sense to deprive their armies of sympathetic locals who could offer food and information. Etc., etc. But Zionist propaganda, like other nationalist propaganda, has immense staying power in the face of contrary evidence.

McClatchy reports political violence on Sunday in Iraq:

' Baghdad

- Around 8 p.m. two roadside bombs targeted the Iraqi traffic police headquarters in Yarmouk neighborhood, killing one traffic policeman and injuring four others.

- Around 10 p.m. Mrs. Hiro Talabani, Iraq's first lady, survived a roadside bomb explosion that targeted her convoy near the Iraqi national theater in central Baghdad, injuring 4 bodyguards.

- Around 2:45 p.m. a magnetic bomb attached to a car exploded near the Green Zone injuring one civilian.

- Imam Ali Hospital in Sadr city received 5 dead bodies, including three children, and 17 injured, including children within the last 24 hours.

- Three mortar shells hit the Green Zone.

- Gunmen killed Dr. Ayaad Jafar, the assistant of head of Baghdad University, and injured two of his sons in Al Adel neighborhood.

- Two mortar shells slammed near Al Hurriyah square in Karrada injuring two civilians.

- A rocket hit a residential area in Karrada and didn't explode.

- A roadside bomb targeted an Iraqi army vehicle in central Baghdad injuring two soldiers.

- A roadside bomb targeted civilians in Zayuna injured two children and one man.

- Iraqi police found three dead bodies throughout Baghdad, one in Zayuna, one in Mansour, one in Shurta Rabia.

Diyala

- A member of Al Sahwa (Awakening), a U.S. sponsored militia, was killed and another member was injured while trying to defuse a roadside bomb near one of Al Sahwa headquarters near Al Wajihiya area, 12 miles east of Baquba.

Salahuddin

- Gunmen bombed a policeman's house near Balad city, killing two women.

Nineveh

- Gunmen killed Sarwa Abdul Wahab, a journalist, a lawyer and a member of the Mosul branch of the Independent Electoral Commission in Iraq. She was leaving her house with her mother in Al Bakr neighborhood in Mosul.

- Gunmen killed two civilians in two different incidents in Mosul.

- A roadside bomb targeted a civilian car in Mosul killing one civilian.

Basra

- Iraqi police said an Iranian coast guard boat killed an Iraqi fisherman near Al Fau. A local fishermen association said three fishermen were killed in the attack. '

US wounds 30 at Hospital; Kills 14 in Separate Incidents; Iraq MPS Dicker with Iran over Sadr

McClatchy reports that a US missile strike aimed at a suspected Mahdi Army HQ blew out the windows in a hospital next door in the densely populated slum of Sadr City. Flying glass produced by a missile is like lots of little missiles:

'The rocket strike near Sadr Hospital injured 30 people, shattered the windows of ambulances and sent doctors and hospital staff fleeing the scene, hospital officials said. That hospital and another major facility in Sadr City had already taken in 25 dead bodies between Friday afternoon and 10 a.m. Saturday, when the strike occurred, hospital officials said. None of the injuries was life threatening. The U.S. military is facing growing criticism over what residents describe as mounting civilian casualties in Sadr City, a densely populated slum of some 2.5 million people, which has seen heavy clashes over the past six weeks between U.S. and Iraqi forces and militiamen loyal to the hard-line Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr.'

It adds, "American troops also killed 14 people in separate incidents in and around Sadr City as bloody street battles continued to mark the U.S. effort to rid the area of suspected Shiite Muslim militants, military officials said."

Iran is threatening to pull out of scheduled talks with the US over the strikes on civilian neighborhoods by US missiles.

Al-Hayat reports that the Iraqi parliamentary delegation now in Iran, sent by PM Nuri al-Maliki, will ask Tehran's help in reestablishing the relationship between the elements of the United Iraqi Alliance (the Shiite coalition that includes the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq and the Da`wa (Islamic Mission) Party, including the Sadrists. They are seeking to make up ahead of the provincial elections now scheduled for October. The delegation is demanding that Sadr dissolve his Mahdi Army militia and obey the central government's commands, in return for which he will be guaranteed a prominent role in the central government. This source on the delegation said that Muqtada is in Qom and that the delegation will attempt to conduct a direct dialogue with him.

Another member of the delegation, though, contradicted this account, saying that they had only come to see a high ranking official (presumably Qasim Sulaimani of the Quds Force). This member denied that they would seek discussions with Sadr.

Sadr spokesman Falah Shanshal said that no agreements reached between Maliki and the Iranians would be recognized by the Sadr Movement if Muqtada al-Sadr was not part of the parleys.

In other news, Al-Sharq al-Awsat reports in Arabic that The Iraqi National List of Iyad Allawi is demanding that PM Nuri al-Maliki apologize to Allawi for suggesting that he was behing the January, 2007 millenarian uprising in Najaf. Al-Maliki's people say that apologizing will be "difficult." (Maliki's accusation is bizarre).

McClatchy reports political violence on Saturday:

'Baghdad

- Around 8:30 am a roadside bomb targeted traffic policemen at Nafaq Al-Shurta (Shurta tunnel) neighborhood (west Baghdad). One civilian was killed and eight were injured (including 6 traffic policemen).

- Around 10 am, the Sadr hospital in Sadr city was hit by an American missile. Thirty people were injured and a number of ambulances were damaged, a hospital official said. The U.S. military said that a targeted strike destroyed a "criminal element command and control center." The center was near the hospital and the U.S. military said that only the windows were damaged at the hospital.

- Around 3pm, a roadside bomb targeted an American patrol at Amil neighborhood near Amil petrol station(west Baghdad). No casualties reported.

- Around 3pm, a roadside bomb targeted an American patrol at Mohammad Al-Qasim high way near Shaab neighborhood(north east Baghdad).No casualties reported.

-- Around 3pm, a roadside bomb targeted an American patrol at Shaab intersection (north east Baghdad). No casualties reported.

- Police found 4 dead bodies in Baghdad today: 2 were found in Karkh bank; 1 in Bayaa and 1 in Hurriyah. While 2 were found in Risafa bank; 1 in Shaab and 1 in Ur.

Mosul

- Saturday morning, clashes took place between gunmen and Iraqi army at Sumer neighborhood in Mosul city. One gunman was killed in those clashes.

- Around noon, a roadside bomb targeted a police patrol at Tal Al-Ruman(south west Mosul).Three people were injured (including two policemen).

Kirkuk

- Saturday morning a roadside bomb targeted a police patrol near the third bridge in downtown Kirkuk city. Three policemen were injured.


Diyala

- Saturday morning a 7-year-old child was injured when he picked up a flashlight in the street. The flashlight was rigged with explosives and it exploded. The child, Mohammed Omran, was killed in the Shurta neighborhood in downtown Khanaqin (north east Baquba). '

Sadrist Crowds Denounce al-Maliki; at Friday Prayers; ICG: US is Creating Paramilitary Forces

Friday prayers were tumultuous in Baghdad's Sadr City on Friday, as supporters of cleric Muqtada al-Sadr denounced Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki for his brutal invasion of their township.

Turkey's bombing campaign on Friday against the Kurdish Workers' Party guerrillas hiding out in northern Iraq caused the price of oil to rally on Friday. Speculation on oil futures is probably responsible for 10 to 15 percent of the price of petroleum.

John McCain seems to think our young men and women are fighting in Iraq because of America's dependence on foreign petroleum: ""My friends, I will have an energy policy that we will be talking about, which will eliminate our dependence on oil from the Middle East that will -- that will then prevent us -- that will prevent us from having ever to send our young men and women into conflict again in the Middle East. . ."

Well, d'oh.

Kellog, Brown and Root tripled earnings in the first quarter of this year, in part on the Iraq War. The business of America is business. And the business of some big businesses is war.

The International Crisis Group warns that the Bush administration has milked the surge for about everything they can hope to get out of it. But now what? It warns:

' The US policy, it says, is bolstering a set of local actors operating beyond the state's realm or the rule of law and who impose their authority by force of arms. . . "None of these points to progress toward a fully inclusive political process" . . . '

Doha Debates on Sunni-Shiite Violence

For those of you with access to BBC World, the best 24 hour news channel in the English-speaking world check out the Doha Debate this weekend. I was one of the debaters in Qatar.

Press coverage: The Christian Science Monitor

The blurb:

' Watch the latest Doha Debate: 'This House believes the Sunni-Shia conflict is damaging Islam's reputation as a religion of peace' on BBC World on May 3rd and 4th at the following times:


Doha times: Saturday May 3rd: 10:10 and repeated at 18:10 and 22:10

Sunday May 4th: 03:10 and repeated at 10:10, 18:10 and 22:10


GMT Saturday May 3rd: 07:10 and repeated at 15:10 and 19:10

Sunday May 4th: 00:10 and repeated at 07:10, 15:10 and 19:10

The Doha Debates have been broadcast on BBC World since January 2005. BBC World is the BBC's international, 24 hour news channel, broadcasting by satellite to nearly 300 million people in more than 200 countries. '

35 Killed in Diyala Bombings; 10,000 Longshore Workers Strike against Iraq War; Sadr Rebuffs UIA Delegation; Sami al-Haj Released

A double suicide bombing killed 35 and wounded 66 at a wedding party in Baladruz, a city northeast of Baghdad in troubled Diyala province. In Baghdad, 1 US soldier and 8 Iraqis were killed by a roadside bomb targeting a US convoy.

In a sign of a reinvigorated American Left, longshore workers declined to come to work on Thursday, paralyzing ports along the West Coast from Los Angeles to Seattle, in protest against the Iraq War. The union workers complained that "many of the big shipping companies are profiting from the war."

If the Democrats could get both the executive and both houses of Congress in the fall, one measure of whether they are just time-servers and lackeys or whether they are serious about reforming the country away from its current abuses will be whether they revise Taft-Hartley and Landrum-Griffin, the 50s-era legislation that laid the legal groundwork for the successful union-busting by US corporations of the past three decades. Despite the myths, most unionized workers are substantially to the left of the white collar middle class on important social issues, and gutting the unions has ensured that their voices have been muted. On Thursday we got a glimpse of what they think and an inkling of what the US would be like if union membership hadn't plummeted to only about 12%. Corporations are very wealthy and very organized. The rest of us are not wealthy and not organized at all in comparison. And in politics, that means we almost always lose. Unions are the main form of organization that could at least sometimes prevail over corporation policies that injure the rest of us, and if they are not strong then we have lost our shield. For news of union-busting activities, Workinglife.org does a good job. Of course, not all corporations benefit from the Iraq War, and some actually are suffering from it in some ways, which is probably the main hope for ending it.

In Iraq news, a further parliamentary delegation, comprising MP from the United Iraqi Alliance (Shiite coalition), went from Baghdad to Iran in hopes of negotiating a new ceasefire with Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Sadr, however, refused to see them. He said he preferred the negotiating track being engaged in by Iraqi president Jalal Talabani and speaker of the House Mahmud Mashhadani. Sadr spokesman Salah al-Obeidi in Najaf denied that Sadr was anyway in Iran.


The Committee for the Protection of Journalists hailed the release by US military authorities of Aljazeera journalist Sami al-Haj, who was detained at Guantanamo for 6 years without ever having been charged with a crime. He had only been working for Aljazeera for 1 month when the Pakistani military detained him at the Afghan border. Apparently the US military trumped up charges against him in order to hold him, in hopes of interrogating him about Aljazeera. Donald Rumsfeld had all sorts of conspiracy theories about the Doha-based news organization, which is funded by the moderate Qatar government (which also hosts a US military base and has helped capture key al-Qaeda operatives).

And, see Pepe Escobar on Iran at tomdispatch.com. As usual, Tom Engelhardt has been publishing hardhitting essays, and recent ones include Chalmers Johnson on RAND and Tom himself on Gen. Petraeus (scroll down).

Tony Judt on the Israel Lobby:



McClatchy reports political violence in Iraq on Thursday:

' Baghdad

A parked car bomb exploded targeting a US military convoy in Camp Sara moving in the direction of the Sina'ah (industrial) street, central Baghdad at 9.20 Thursday. The explosion killed 8 civilians and 1 American soldier, wounding 21 civilians and 2 American soldiers, said Iraqi Police. The US military confirmed that, "soldier was killed from wounds sustained when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device struck the soldier's vehicle during a combat patrol in central Baghdad at approximately 9:15 a.m. May 1."

Random fire from 4 SUVs belonging to a private security company injured 1 civilian. The incident took place in Tayaran Square, central Baghdad at 1 pm.

A roadside bomb exploded targeting a police patrol passing under Ghadeer traffic fly over in Ghadeer neighbourhood, east Baghdad at 1.15 pm, injuring 2 policemen and 3 civilians.

A roadside bomb exploded targeting a US military convoy in Bayaa, southwest Baghdad at 4 pm. No casualties were reported.

A mortar round fell on al-Salhiyah residential complex, central Baghdad at 4 pm, injuring 3 civilians.

A roadside bomb exploded in Zafaraniyah near al-Kubaisi Mosque at around 6 pm injuring 3 civilians.

A roadside bomb exploded in al-Obaidi neighbourhood near al-Obaidi Mosque at around 6 pm injuring 5 civilians.

Armed clashes broke out in Amil between gunmen and US military forces at 8.30 pm. The US military had air support and several air strikes took place killing 4 people and wounding 12. The main waster supply pipe in the neighbourhood was hit during the air strikes.

5 unidentified bodies were found in Baghdad by Iraqi Police today. 1 in al-Nidhal Dtreet; 1 in al-Amin; 1 in Shaab and 2 in Saidiyah.

Diyala

1 Iraqi Army soldier killed and 4 injured in a roadside bomb explosion that had targeted an Army patrol in Abu Khamees village, 12 km to the south of Baquba at around 7.50 am Thursday.

A suicide bomber wearing an explosive vest mingled with a wedding procession during a stop to take photographs at the studio in al-Faina area in Baladruz district, 45 km to the east of Baquba, and detonated. While people gathered to aid the wounded, another suicide bomber – this time a woman walked into their midst and detonated. Casualties until time of publication stand at 36 killed and 65 wounded many of whom were women and children.

Tikrit

Yeterday, Wednesday, 2 bodies found near the rail tracks in Dayum area, to the west of Tikrit city were identified as Khaleel Ibraheem, 24 years, labourer and his young wife Kawakib Suhail, housewife. The report from the coroner's office in Tikrit Teaching Hospital said they died as a result of torture.

Nineveh

A roadside bomb exploded targeting an Iraqi army patrol in al-Islah neighbourhood, western Mosul killing 2 soldiers and completely destroying their vehicle. '

Bhasin Guest Editorial: Is the U.S. creating another Al- Qaeda in Iraq?

Madhavi Bhasin writes from Calcutta:

The Bush administration says it is waging a global war to fight terrorism and defeat Al-Qaeda. The human, financial and psychological costs of the war on terror have been immense. The U.S. is attempting to adopt every possible military and non-military approach to meet the challenges in Iraq and Afghanistan-- the two active theaters of the war on terror. But what appears strange is that the U.S. continues to commit the same strategic mistakes, in countering terrorism that facilitated its emergence in the first place.

The roots of Taliban and Al-Qaeda can be traced to the resistance movement against the Soviet invasion of 1978. The U.S. had provided military support to the anti-Soviet movement, thereby assisting the consolidation of the Taliban. The inability of the U.S. to foresee the implications of arming the Taliban in a country characterized by political instability, social divisiveness and economic impoverishment has contributed in making terrorism an unmanageable challenge. It was a short-term solution that created long term problems.

The U.S. approach in Iraq, unfortunately, is following much the same course. The U.S. is arming and even giving pay-cheques to Sunni groups on the pretext of gaining local support for fighting the Al-Qaeda. In November 2006 Sunni tribal leaders approached the Coalition forces and suggested to form organized armed groups to resist the attacks by the Al-Qaeda terrorists. The U.S. obliged by providing arms and military training to these groups and initiating an incentive based payment method. The members receive a bonus for periods devoid of major attacks by opposition forces. The experiment referred to as the “Awakening Councils” by the U.S. forces and Al-Sahwa by the Iraqi people, was even commended by President George W. Bush in his 2008 State of Union Address. The President referred to it as ‘the surge by the Iraqis’.

The services of the Al-Sahwa members are used by the Coalition forces to manage the security by countering insurgent groups, including the Al-Qaeda terrorists. In order to establish the indigenous character of the Al-Sahwa group and strategy, the U.S. forces refer to its members as “Sons of Iraq”. But these “Sons of Iraq” are performing important public diplomacy functions for the U.S. Abu Azam, one of the founders of the Al-Sahwa, has referred to the threats that his group is facing from Iran and Syria in the process of stabilizing Iraq. The U.S. insistence that Iran is seeking to de-stabilize Iraq is expected to gain credence if a segment of the Iraqi population supports the claim. The Al-Sahwa is indeed serving as a multi-task force for the U.S. But history is repeating itself a little too soon for the U.S. Once again the U.S. is opting for a short term solution that could create long term problems.

There are several problems associated with the formation and operation of the Al-Sahwa. Most of the members of the Al-Sahwa are former Ba’ath party members, military and security officials who served under the Saddam Hussein regime. The Sunni population of Iraq has come to form a dominant segment of these new groups. The Sunni ruling class under the Saddam Hussein regime has come to be dominated Shias under the new political set-up. The sectarian rivalries have been further fueled by this turn of political fortunes in Iraq.

Given these political and sociological realities in Iraq the emergence and strengthening of the Al-Sahwa forces is a matter of concern. By arming a Sunni segment of the population, which had been close to Saddam Hussein, the U.S. is re-enforcing sectarian and political divisions within Iraq. The Al-Sahwa, much like the Taliban, is attempting to achieve its religious and political aims through the U.S. The activities of Al-Sahwa clearly demonstrates this fact. In February this year, the group suspended cooperation with the Coalition Forces and demanded resignation of the Police Chief of Diyala Province, who happens to be a Shia.

The common people still live in the midst of fear as according to them members of the Al-Sahwa have merely changed allegiance from Saddam Hussien to the Coalition Forces. A representative from the Iraqi Interior Ministry has expressed the opinion that Al-Sahwa has emerged as third security force in the country along with the Army and Police. Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki has agreed that intelligence reports establish that the Al-Qaeda operatives have been able to sneak into the Al-Sahwa groups creating major security concerns. The members of the Al-Sahwa are operating with a strategic purpose in mind and have clearly stated that they will resist any attempt by the U.S. to abandon the group after the short-term goals of the Coalition forces are achieved. In an interview with Patrick Cockburn, one of the Al-Sahwa leaders threatened to go war against the U.S. forces and Iraqi government if the demands of his group were not complied with.

Under these given conditions will the Al-Sahwa emerge any different from the Al-Qaeda after the Coalition Forces withdraw and these armed Sunnis are deprived of any role in the regular Iraqi Army?

Madhavi Bhasin
Research Fellow
Jadavpur University
Kolkata, India

5 Years after Mission Accomplished; April US Troop Toll 50 Killed; 1,073 Iraqis Killed this Month

5 Years after George W. Bush's infamous speech aboard the USS Lincoln, the mission seems incomplete. Bush imagined that he could get rid of Saddam Hussein and install exiled businessman and bank fraudster Ahmad Chalabi in his place. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz told Congress that the US would be out of Iraq, except for a division (20,000 men or so), by October of 2003. Wolfowitz and other Bush officials depicted Iraqis as secular and downplayed the possibility of ethnic violence in the aftermath of the overthrow of the Baath Party.

Here are some memorable phrases from Bush's mendacious speech half a decade ago:

' . . . major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed. . .

And now our coalition is engaged in securing and reconstructing that country. . .

In this battle, we have fought for the cause of liberty and for the peace of the world. . .

Because of you our nation is more secure. . . [Note that he is trying to attribute to the poor enlisted men his policies.] . . .

In the images of fallen statues we have witnessed the arrival of a new era. . . [The statue was pulled down by the US military and the whole thing was staged before a tiny Iraqi crowd, the small size of which media close-ups disguised.] . . .

In defeating Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan, Allied forces destroyed entire cities, while enemy leaders who started the conflict were safe until the final days. Military power was used to end a regime by breaking a nation. Today we have the greater power to free a nation by breaking a dangerous and aggressive regime. With new tactics and precision weapons, we can achieve military objectives without directing violence against civilians. . . [The US has probably directly killed about 200,000 Iraqis and destroyed the city of Fallujah as well as damaging and repeatedly bombing others. Bush's fascist attempt to reconfigure warfare as a humanitarian gesture is the biggest lie of all] . . .

Men and women in every culture need liberty like they need food and water and air. [Foreign military occupation is not generally considered 'liberty' by most people.] . . .

We've begun the search for hidden chemical and biological weapons, and already know of hundreds of sites that will be investigated. [The sites were being investigated before the war, and nothing was being found, so Bush pulled out the inspectors and went to war. Nothing ever was found.] . . .

Our coalition will stay until our work is done and then we will leave and we will leave behind a free Iraq. [When will that be exactly?] . . .

In the battle of Afghanistan, we destroyed the Taliban . . . [ Maybe not so much; this 'mission accomplished' passage has not been sufficiently criticized] . . .

The liberation of Iraq is a crucial advance in the campaign against terror. We have removed an ally of Al Qaida and cut off a source of terrorist funding. [There was no operational connection between Iraq and al-Qaeda. None. And the US occupation of Iraq gave al-Qaeda a new lease on life ] . . .

We are committed to freedom in Afghanistan, Iraq and in a peaceful Palestine. . . [90% of the world fell down laughing at that point in the speech; only gullible, self-righteous Americans could even think about taking this snow job seriously] . . .

'

The "mission accomplished" banner was the least of it.

As for the present, the struggle between the al-Maliki government, backed by the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq and its Badr Corps militia on the one hand, and on the other the Sadr Movement with its Mahdi Army militia (all of them Shiites) made April among the deadliest months in Iraq since last September. Official figures show 1,073 Iraqis killed in political violence and 50 US soldiers killed. AFP says of Iraqis, "1,745 civilians, 159 policemen and 104 soldiers" were killed in April.

2 US Troops Killed, 21 Wounded; 37 Iraqis Killed in Baghdad Clashes;

According to BBC television, AFP is reporting that Mahdi Army militiamen killed 2 US troops in northern Baghdad on Wednesday morning. US Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates admitted on Tuesday that the reduction in US troop casualties in recent months had ended in the past few weeks, because of the fighting in Sadr City in the capital. Over 40 US troops have been killed in April. Gates also brandished a second aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf at Iran, which the US accuses of supplying the Mahdi Army with arms that are used against US troops. Recent US press reporting in the New York Times and elsewhere has raised questions about the allegation. Sadr spokesman Salah al-Obeidi (al-Ubaydi) in Najaf bitterly attacked Iran, accusing it of seeking to share with the US in influence over Iraq. He pointed to the Iranian's regime's failure to condemn the long-term mutual security agreement being crafted by the Bush administration and the al-Maliki government. Al-Obeidi's angry denunciation suggests that Iran is backing PM Nuri al-Maliki and his current chief ally, the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq led by Abdul Aziz al-Hakim against the Sadr Movement of Muqtada al-Sadr.

The sandstorm continued in Baghdad on Tuesday, and so did the fierce fighting between the US military and the Shiite Mahdi Army (paramilitary of the Sadr Movement), leaving 37 dead and 6 US soldiers wounded. The dead were said to include 9 civilians, including 3 women and a child. The sandstorm was an essential context for the fighting, since it prevented the US from deploying helicopter gunships and so left a ground patrol vulnerable to militia attack. The Mahdi Army was apparently attempting to prevent further US wall-building in the Shiite slum. Snipers also shot at US troops from rooftops. It is hard to believe that such complex assaults (involving a combination of ambush, small arms, and roadside bombs) are still going on after 5 years of US military occupation of the capital. AFP reports:

'Several rockets or mortar rounds . . . struck the Iraqi capital's heavily fortified government compound, as militants took advantage of the absence of US air cover during the storm, witnesses said. In one of the most intense firefights in weeks, the American soldiers killed 28 militants in Sadr City, stronghold of anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, the military said. Four US soldiers were also wounded in the fighting that began at around 9:30 am (0630 GMT). The fighting erupted when a US patrol was targeted with small-arms fire that wounded one soldier, Lieutenant Colonel Steven Stover told AFP. As the soldier was being evacuated, a US vehicle was struck by two roadside bombs, small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades. The "complex" attack damaged the vehicle and wounded three other soldiers, Stover said, adding that another US vehicle was later damaged by a third roadside bomb. The US military said its soldiers defended themselves and "killed 28 militants in a four-hour" battle. Residents said US forces also launched two air strikes in the area which heavily damaged four houses. Pictures taken by an AFP photographer showed a number of bodies buried under the debris of the four houses. But Stover denied that aircraft had been used. The sandstorm had largely grounded US helicopters. Instead he said US troops used heavy rockets against the militants.'

It is now being revealed that on Monday, "Shi'ite militants hit a U.S. military station in southern Sadr City with explosive canisters, badly damaging a tactical operations center and injuring 15 troops."

Up in the oil city of Kirkuk, the focus of competition between Kurdish Peshmerga on the one hand and Arab and Turkmen guerrillas on the other, "around the oil city of Kirkuk four people were killed and 15 wounded in two bomb attacks."

McClatchy reports political violence in Iraq on Tuesday:

' Baghdad

Gunmen killed the director of the projects in the ministry of labour and social affairs Dheya al Jodi while he was leaving his house in Atifiyah neighborhood in north Baghdad around 7:00 a.m.

Around 1:00 p.m. two mortar shells hit al Jaish club building (the Army Club) in Karrada neighborhood in downtown Baghdad. No casualties reported. Another mortar shell slammed into the area near the neurosurgery hospital in Bab al Sharj neighborhood in downtown Baghdad at the same time. No casualties reported.

Two civilians were injured when a mortar shell hit al Muheet Street in Kadhemiyah neighborhood north Baghdad around 2,45 p.m.

Three civilians were injured when a mortar shell slammed into a house in Karrad Maryam neighborhood in downtown Baghdad around 3:00 p.m.

Two civilians were killed and five others were wounded when a Katyosha rocket hit New Baghdad neighborhood in east Baghdad around 3:15 p.m.

Diyala

A female suicide bomber wearing an explosive vest detonated herself among members of Sahwa (awakening council members) in Abo Saida village north of Baquba city around 7:50 a.m. one sahwa member was killed and five others were wounded

Three members of the Iraqi army were injured when a roadside bomb targeted their vehicle in Baladroz district east of Baquba city around 10:30 a.m.

Three civilians were killed in three attacks by insurgents in three different neighborhoods in Jalawla town northeast of Baquba city around 11:15 a.m.

The director of Sadiyah town Samir al Sadi was injured in an IED explosion that targeted his convoy while he was leaving the building of the directorate in downtown Sadiyah town around 12:20 p.m. one of the guards were killed and two other civilians were injured.

The supporting office of Qazanya district tribes east of Baquba found six unidentified bodies in a deserted house in one of the villages of Qazanya.

Nineveh

A suicide truck bomb tried to attack one of the centers of the Iraqi army in Nahrawan neighborhood in west Mosul city around 7:00 a.m. the soldiers launched an RBG7 shell and exploded the truck before it could reach the center. The driver of the truck was killed and an Iraqi soldier was injured.

An Iraqi soldier was killed and five others were injured when a suicide car bomb attacked their check point in al Yarmouk neighborhood in west Mosul on Tuesday afternoon. '

Mortar, Rocket attacks in Baghdad; in aftermath of Militia Campaign

Baghdad has been roiled for the past three days with major fighting between Iraqi government/ US forces and the Mahdi Army militia in east and north Baghdad, leaving 45 militiamen dead and an unstated number of Iraqi troops. At one point on Sunday, the a Mahdi Army company nearly took a government checkpoint in the northeast, and the US had to bring in a tank to save the Iraqi army unit.

Guerrillas launched numerous mortar and katyusha rocket attacks on Monday. Reuters reports: "A mortar round landed behind the Rashid Hotel in the Green Zone government compound, wounding five people including a child, police said . . . Five people were wounded in a mortar attack in Abu Nawas street in central Baghdad . . . Three mortar bombs landed on a police station in Jazair district, eastern Baghdad, wounding three policemen . . . A mortar blast wounded one person in the Mansour district, western Baghdad . . ."

On Monday,

Two mass graves have been found in Iraq in the past two days, each with about 50 bodies in them. Sunni Arab guerrilla groups made "collaborators" or rivals disappear this way as an object lesson.

The alleged flow of arms from Iran to south Iraq has not in fact increased in recent months (and my own suspicion is that US authorities mistake some black market arms selling for Iranian-government supplied weaponry). So why does the Bush administration and Pentagon stridency about Iran go up an down without reference to any facts on the ground? Seems to me that they deploy charges against Iran in an Orwellian way, as a tool of diplomatic pressure, when it suits them.

McClatchy profiles Brg. Gen. Qassem Suleimani of the Quds Force within the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. It is a good story, but it reflects the breathlessness of Green Zone conspiracy theories. For instance, some American alleged to the reporters that Suleimani engineered the victory of the Shiite religious parties in January 2005 over Iyad Allawi. Allawi had been appointed by the US, was an ex-Baathist, and a known CIA asset. He was defeated by a coalition list of Shiite parties that had struggled against Saddam Hussein and were endorsed by Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani. Attributing their defeat of Allawi to the Quds Force is just silly. Likewise, the allegations of extensive Iranian spying on Iraq or of bringing in "Hizbullah" from Lebanon (for which there is no good evidence) are unproved and the premise is unnecessary. If the Badr Corps was until recently part of the Iranian military, as the authors concede, then you don't need to posit a lot of phantom Iranian agents who are providing intelligence on Iraq to Tehran. Badr, Ahmad Chalabi, and other supposed US assets are double agents, guys. If Iraq were crawling with Iranian agents, the US would have more Iranians in custody than it does (last I knew, it was like 5 diplomats).

AFP draws aside the curtain on the micro-economy of the struggle between the Islamic State of Iraq of Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and local clans in Iskandariya south of Baghdad, which centered on the region's fish farms. The article also gives evidence that al-Baghdadi, who the US military maintains is a fictive personality created by foreign fighters to give themselves Iraqi legitimacy, is a real Iraqi person with a history in the Iskandariya area. The US is mostly fighting Iraqis in Iraq, but is reluctant to have this fact become known.

A lot of money was wasted on phantom reconstruction projects in Iraq left incomplete because of poor contractor performance. In other words, US tax payers made an involuntary contribution to Friends of George, which would be a good way of summing up the Iraq occupation in general.

The US Pentagon is suspending a campaign to influence the retired military talking heads who come on television in the US, after the NYT blew the whistle on it. Reuters notes: "Sen. Carl Levin, the Michigan Democrat who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, also said some of the analysts appeared to be working for defense contractors, raising a potential conflict of interest." You always suspected these things about corporate media coverage of Iraq, but seeing it in cold black and white is bracing. I have more than once been put opposite some sunshine peddler on radio or television and wondered whether the person was on the take.

McClatchy reports political violence in Iraq on Monday:

' Baghdad

- Around 11 pm Sunday, 4 mortar shells hit the Green Zone (IZ) in central Baghdad. No casualties reported.

- Around midnight, 3 mortars hit the intelligence headquarters in Baladiyat neighborhood (east Baghdad). No casualties reported.

- Around 3 am, three mortar shells hit Mamil neighborhood. Five people were injured in that incident.

- Around 8 am, a mortar hit the Green Zone (IZ) in central Baghdad. No casualties reported.

- Around 10 am, a mortar hit the area beyond the Sa'aa restaurant at Mansour neighborhood (west Baghdad). Two civilians were injured in that incident.

- Around 1 pm, 3 mortar shells hit Al-Jazaer police station in Sadr city. Three policemen were injured with some damage to the building.

- Around 1:30pm, An American warplane targeted a Hino truck which was carrying Katyusha missiles at Al-Qanat street (east Baghdad). Two people were injured in that incident.

- Around 2 pm, a motor bicycle bomb targeted Sahwa members (also known as Sons of Iraq). One member was killed and three others were injured.

- Around 2 :15 pm, a roadside bomb targeted a civilian car (Toyota Pick up ) which was carrying technicians employees of the power supply service on the high way of Nahdha neighborhood (north Baghdad).Three of the employees were injured in that incident.

- Around 2:30 pm, a roadside bomb targeted the Sahwa members check point at Adhamiyah neighborhood (north Baghdad) near Qasim Abu Al-Ghas restaurant .Three members were injured in that incident.

- Around 4:30 pm, a Katyusha missile hit Al-Sadeer hotel in Karrada neighborhood (central Baghdad).No casualties or damage recorded as it was in the garden of this hotel.

- Around 5 pm, a mortar shell hit an area behind the Rashid hotel in the green zone (IZ) which is a residential compound .Five people were injured in that incident including a child.

- Around 5 :30 pm, a roadside bomb targeted an American patrol in Amil neighborhood (west Baghdad) .No casualties reported on the American side .While we have four civilians injured in that incident including a child and woman.

- Police found 6 dead bodies in Baghdad today: 4 were found in Karkh bank of Baghdad ; 1 in Kadhimiyah, 1 in Hurriyah, 1 in Dora and 1 in Yarmouk. While 2 were found in east Baghdad (Risafa bank); 1 in Ur and 1 in Jisr Diyala.

Diyala

- Around 4:30 pm, gunmen of the Qaeda attacked Al-Bayjat village (south of Baquba ). The residents of the village who join the Sahwas (Sons of Iraq) councils resisted them and killed five gunmen including a leader.

Kirkuk

- Sunday night, gunmen opened fire on an Iraqi army soldier at Tuz Khurmatu (south of Kirkuk).The soldier was killed at once and the gunmen ran away.

Basra

- Before noon, gunmen killed a Sadrist leader at Timimiyah neighborhood downtown Basra. Also his wife was injured as she was with him walking home. '