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Sadr repeats call for US troops to go home
Hard-line Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr issued a fresh call on Friday for US troops to withdraw from Iraq, saying there would be no sectarian violence after foreign forces quit the country.
His followers also set fire to a large Pokemon doll decked out in small US flags after Friday prayers in Baghdad's sprawling Sadr City quarter, a bastion of the cleric, where some 2 million people live.
The faithful torched American and Israeli flags and danced around the flames while waving an Iraqi flag and chanting slogans denouncing the occupying foreign forces.
Sadr's representative, Sheikh Sattar al-Battat, leading the first Friday prayers after the end of Ramadan, said his leader wanted the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to get the Americans out quickly.
"I ask the government to end the occupation," Battat said, quoting a message from Sadr, who is reportedly studying in the Iranian city of Qom. "The government must send out the US troops and free all Iraqi prisoners held by them."
The Sadr representative said that there would be no sectarian violence between the majority Shiites and the Sunnis after Iraqi sovereignty was restored with the withdrawal of all "occupying forces." Hard-line Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr issued a fresh call on Friday for US troops to withdraw from Iraq, saying there would be no se... more -
Clerics' debate underlines Sunni-Shiite divide
Two of the Arab world's most prominent Muslim theologians have waded into a bitter exchange of barbs, engaging in a debate that is a small-scale rendition of the worsening animosity between the Sunni and Shiite branches of Islam. Two of the Arab world's most prominent Muslim theologians have waded into a bitter exchange of barbs, engaging in a debate that i... more
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Meanwhile Back in Iraq
Did you know that we’ve lost 20 soldiers in Iraq this month?
The army is investigating whether troops were exposed to a deadly chemical at an Iraqi water pumping plant in 2003. I can guess what the outcome will be.
A former Iraqi official told a Senate Democratic Policy committee yesterday that $13 BILLION in Iraq aid was wasted or stolen and is unaccounted for. You can listen to the hearing here.
The Shiite dominated government will take over responsibility of the “Sons of Iraq”
U.S. soldiers accidently killed a Sunni leader in Iraq on Tuesday.
U.S. officials are back in Iraq trying to negotiate a security pact. Last week al-Maliki warned that the security pact was facing “serious and dangerous obstacles.”
A federal judge has ordered the Army to grant conscientious objector status and an honorable discharge to a soldier who says he experienced a religious awakening in Iraq. Well alright!!!
Iraq signed a multi billion dollar deal with Royal Dutch Shell, giving the company access to its natural gas reserves.
Security developments in Iraq 09/23/08 Did you know that we’ve lost 20 soldiers in Iraq this month? ... more -
Study: decline in Iraq violence not due to 'surge' but ethnic cleansing
Satellite images taken at night show heavily Sunni Arab neighborhoods of Baghdad began emptying before a U.S. troop surge in 2007, graphic evidence of ethnic cleansing that preceded a drop in violence, according to a report published on Friday.
The images support the view of international refugee organizations and Iraq experts that a major population shift was a key factor in the decline in sectarian violence, particularly in the Iraqi capital, the epicenter of the bloodletting in which hundreds of thousands were killed.
Minority Sunni Arabs were driven out of many neighborhoods by Shi'ite militants enraged by the bombing of the Samarra mosque in February 2006. The bombing, blamed on the Sunni militant group al Qaeda, sparked a wave of sectarian violence.
"By the launch of the surge, many of the targets of conflict had either been killed or fled the country, and they turned off the lights when they left," geography professor John Agnew of the University of California Los Angeles, who led the study, said in a statement.
"Essentially, our interpretation is that violence has declined in Baghdad because of intercommunal violence that reached a climax as the surge was beginning," said Agnew, who studies ethnic conflict.
Some 2 million Iraqis are displaced within Iraq, while 2 million more have sought refuge in neighboring Syria and Jordan. Previously religiously mixed neighborhoods of Baghdad became homogenized Sunni or Shi'ite Muslim enclaves.
The study, published in the journal Environment and Planning A, provides more evidence of ethnic conflict in Iraq, which peaked just before U.S. President George W. Bush ordered the deployment of about 30,000 extra U.S. troops.
The extent to which the troop build-up helped halt Iraq's slide into sectarian civil war has been debated, particularly in the United States, with supporters of the surge saying it was the main contributing factor, and others arguing it was simply one of a number of factors.
"Our findings suggest that the surge has had no observable effect, except insofar as it has helped to provide a seal of approval for a process of ethno-sectarian neighborhood homogenization that is now largely achieved," Agnew's team wrote in their report.
Agnew's team used publicly available infrared night imagery from a weather satellite operated by the U.S. Air Force.
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And yet McCain said the surge was working and Obama praised the surge as a success beyond our wildest dreams? Either they are lying, or McCain and Obama have just proven how inept they both are in getting to the truth with "winning" the only thing on their minds. Unspeakable crimes have been committed in our names, and yet all we get from candidates is saying what they think certain target groups want to hear instead of the truth. Satellite images taken at night show heavily Sunni Arab neighborhoods of Baghdad began emptying before a U.S. troop surge in 2007, gra... more -
Iraq Takes Aim at Leaders of U.S.-Tied Sunni Groups
The Shiite-dominated government in Iraq is driving out many leaders of Sunni citizen patrols, the groups of former insurgents who joined the American payroll and have been a major pillar in the decline in violence around the nation.
In restive Diyala Province, United States and Iraqi military officials say there were orders to arrest hundreds of members of what is known as the Awakening movement as part of large security operations by the Iraqi military. At least five senior members have been arrested there in recent weeks, leaders of the groups say. The Shiite-dominated government in Iraq is driving out many leaders of Sunni citizen patrols, the groups of former insurgents who join... more -
Shia pilgrims killed in Baghdad
Shia pilgrims killed in Baghdad
At least six people have been killed in a car bomb attack against Shia pilgrims in Baghdad, Iraqi officials say.
At least 10 people were injured in the blast in the capital.
It is the latest in a number of recent attacks on Shia pilgrims heading to the holy city of Karbala to mark the birth date of a 9th Century Shia imam.
On Thursday, 18 people died after a female attacker blew herself up while among a group of pilgrims in the town of Iskandariya, south of Baghdad.
Seventy-five people were injured in that attack.
Tens of thousands of Shia pilgrims are expected to flock to Karbala this weekend.
Thousands of troops and police have been mobilised to try to protect the pilgrims - including many female security personnel drafted in to search women after a recent increase in the use of female bombers. Shia pilgrims killed in Baghdad ... more -
Bomb Strikes Kill Shiite Pilgrims in Iraq
BAGHDAD (AP) -- Iraqi police and hospital officials say a car bombing targeting Shiite pilgrims in Baghdad has killed six people and wounded 11 others.
The officials say the parked car exploded at about 9 a.m. Saturday near minibuses assembled to pick up pilgrims in the city's mainly Shiite district of Shaab.
The officials gave the casualty toll for the bombing on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to release the information.
Several bombings in recent days have targeted Shiites heading to Karbala for a major religious festival. U.S. and Iraqi troops have stepped up security measures for the pilgrimage but the hundreds of thousands of travelers remain vulnerable on the road. BAGHDAD (AP) -- Iraqi police and hospital officials say a car bombing targeting Shiite pilgrims in Baghdad has killed six people and w... more -
Spy Case Casts Light on Hezbollah Recruitment in Germany
Shiite Militants in Europe: A young Israeli man who studied in Germany has been arrested on espionage charges in Israel. Khaled K., of Palestinian descent, allegedly spied for the Hezbollah Shiite militia. His case is expected to highlight Hezbollah recruiting activities in Germany.
When Khaled K. stepped off the plane from Germany to start his summer vacation, it wasn't his family that awaited him at the gate. Instead Shin Bet agents and police greeted the 29-year-old Israeli man of Palestinian descent when he arrived on July 16 at Israel's Ben Gurion International Airport. He was arrested and disappeared into custody for two weeks until Israeli officials filed charges against him on Wednesday and lifted a gag order on coverage of his arrest.
The charges filed by state prosecutors are serious. They allege the man, who comes from the Israeli-Arab town of Kalanswa, sought contact with an agent with connections to Hezbollah in an effort to pass on information.
The indictment alleges he also supplied names of potential recruits to the Shiite militia and that he had expressed his preparedness to take a job at the Rambam Hospital in the Israeli city of Haifa after completing his studies in Germany, where he is enrolled as a student at the University of Göttingen near Hanover. Israeli soldiers in the 2006 war against Hezbollah are still being treated at the Rambam Hospital, and K. was apparently supposed to sound them out in order to obtain information that could be useful to Hezbollah.
Read more... Shiite Militants in Europe: A young Israeli man who studied in Germany has been arrested on espionage charges in Israel. Khaled K., of... more -
Female suicide bombers kill at least 52 in Baghdad, Kirkuk
Three bomb attacks in quick succession have killed at least 52 people in Baghdad as Shia pilgrims enter the Iraqi capital for a major religious event, police say.
Initial reports showed all three explosions on Monday were caused by female suicide bombers, and women and children were among the dead, security and hospital officials said.
At least a million people are expected to visit the Kadhimiya shrine in northwestern Baghdad for the pilgrimage, which climaxes on Tuesday.
Iraqi security forces have increased security in the area.
It was unclear if the victims of the blasts were pilgrims, but the explosions took place near the Karrada district in central Baghdad, an area many pilgrims would pass through on their way to the shrine. Three bomb attacks in quick succession have killed at least 52 people in Baghdad as Shia pilgrims enter the Iraqi capital for a major ... more -
Female suicide bombers kill dozens of Iraqi pilgrims
About 40 people have been killed and almost 150 injured in a series of suicide bomb attacks in Iraq in one of the bloodiest days the country has seen for months.
Three female suicide bombers struck in Baghdad as thousands of Shia Muslim pilgrims flooded into the city. The blasts killed at least 28 people and wounded 92, local police were quoted as saying by Reuters.
In the northern city of Kirkuk a suicide bomber attacked a rally held to protest at a law on provincial elections. Up to 11 people were killed and 54 injured.
Sunni Islamists connected to al-Qaida are thought to be behind the attack. Insurgents, particularly those linked to al-Qaida, have increasingly used female bombers as they are better able to evade security precautions.
Yesterday, seven Shia Muslim pilgrims were shot dead in southern Baghdad as they made their way to the holy site on foot.
Female suicide bombers have carried out more than 20 attacks this year and a team of Iraqi female guards has been deployed around Kadhamiya specifically to search suspects.
Does the idea of female suicide bombers shock you? Or is gender irrelevant in situtations like these? About 40 people have been killed and almost 150 injured in a series of suicide bomb attacks in Iraq in one of the bloodiest days the c... more -
Opposition mounts to US-Iraq security deal
"Thousands of followers of Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr protested Friday in Shiite enclaves across Iraq against plans for a long-term security pact that would allow for an extended U.S. military presence in the country.
"No, no to America! No, no to the occupation!" demonstrators chanted as they waved Iraqi flags and banners after Friday afternoon prayers in Sadr's Baghdad stronghold of Sadr City. "Yes, yes Moqtada! Long live al-Sadr!"
Some of the protesters carried pictures of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki dressed as former president Saddam Hussein. In one corner, a group burned an effigy of Maliki, then danced and stomped on it, as Iraqi government soldiers kept their distance.
The protests were the first since Iraqi troops entered Sadr City this month to assert control over one of Iraq's unruliest zones. But Friday's actions highlighted Sadr's power and popularity among poor Shiites, even as the Shiite-led Iraqi government, backed by U.S. and British forces, have waged a concerted campaign in recent months to weaken his movement and undermine his leadership credentials.
Friday's protests also underscored Sadr's long-term strategy to fulfill his ambitions of leading Iraq someday. After his Mahdi Army militia engaged last month in fierce battles with U.S. and Iraqi forces, resulting in hundreds of civilian deaths, Sadr negotiated a pact that allowed Iraqi troops into Sadr City but barred American soldiers. It was viewed as a victory for Maliki's government and for U.S. efforts to stabilize Iraq.
But the arrangement has also allowed Sadr to boost his image and popularity, while preserving the strength of his militiamen ahead of all-important provincial elections scheduled for October. There are now fewer raids and airstrikes in Sadr City, home to more than 2 million people, and U.S. and Iraqi government efforts are starting to bring basic services to Sadr's impoverished core constituency".
By Sudarsan Raghavan
Washington Post Foreign Service "Thousands of followers of Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr protested Friday in Shiite enclaves across Iraq against plans for... more -
NEW YORK TIMES FANNING FLAMES AGAIN...BUT QUOTES UNNAMED SOURCES
05/05/08. The New York Times ran a lengthty story. The story gives no credible source and even expands on the uncollaberated source with its own explanations...
Based on information provided by four unnamed militants (from interrogations) to another unnamed "Amercian Official" the story claims Iran is providing trainging to Hezbollah. Hours later, John Bolton was on FOX saying bombing was the prudent thing to do.
I say no wonder the "traditional" press is going under. I beleive the sooner the better for the NYT and their record of deciet, pandering and lies on the behalf of partisian politicians. 05/05/08. The New York Times ran a lengthty story. The story gives no credible source and even expands on the uncollaberated source ... more -
Iraq say there is no hard evidence of Iranian support for militia
Intelligence officials in Iraq said on Sunday that they have no evidence which connects Iran to militias working inside Baghdad. Asked about reports that weapons captured from Shiite fighters bore 2008 markings suggesting Iranian involvement, Dabbagh said: "We don't have that kind of evidence... If there is hard evidence we will defend the country."
Washington has accused Iranian groups of arming the militia and training them inside Iran, but officials in Tehran reject the charges, saying that Iran is committed to security for all Iraqis.
When two sources of intelligence contrast so heavily, is there a solution to the problem? Should the UN be playing a much bigger role in the collation of evidence of who is funding who inside Iraq's warzone? Intelligence officials in Iraq said on Sunday that they have no evidence which connects Iran to militias working inside Baghdad. Asked... more -
US Begins Erecting Wall in Sadr City
An excerpt from the New York Times Article by Micheal Gordon:
"Trying to stem the infiltration of militia fighters, American forces have begun to build a massive concrete wall that will partition Sadr City, the densely populated Shiite neighborhood in the Iraqi capital.
The construction, which began Tuesday night, is intended to turn the southern quarter of Sadr City near the international Green Zone into a protected enclave, secured by Iraqi and American forces, where the Iraqi government can undertake reconstruction efforts.
“You can’t really repair anything that is broken until you establish security,” said Lt. Col. Dan Barnett, commander of the First Squadron, Second Stryker Cavalry Regiment. “A wall that isolates those who would continue to attack the Iraqi Army and coalition forces can create security conditions that they can go in and rebuild.”"
My own personal comment... Can anyone say "Gaza"? An excerpt from the New York Times Article by Micheal Gordon: ... more -
America's allies in Iraq under pressure as civil war breaks out among Sunni
"A vicious civil war is now being fought within Iraq's Sunni Arab community between al-Qa'ida in Iraq and al-Sahwa while other groups continue to attack American forces. In Baghdad on a single day the head of al-Sahwa in the southern district of Dora was killed in his car by gunmen and seven others died by bombs and bullets in al-Adhamiya district.
US spokesmen speak of a "spike" in violence in recent weeks but in reality security in Sunni and Shia parts of Iraq has been deteriorating since January. The official daily death toll of civilians reached a low of 20 killed a day in that month and has since more than doubled to 41 a day in March. The US and the Iraqi government are now facing a war on two fronts.
The American-backed government of Nouri al-Maliki is in the meantime stepping up its campaign against the Mehdi Army militia of the anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Iraqi troops sealed off the Basra office of the Sadrists yesterday. "Troops from the Iraqi army prevented us from holding Friday prayers and now they are cordoning off the office," said Harith al-Idhari, the head of the office. "They want to storm it and clear everybody out of it." "A vicious civil war is now being fought within Iraq's Sunni Arab community between al-Qa'ida in Iraq and al-Sahwa whil... more -
Kidnapped British journalist freed in Basra
A British journalist kidnapped in Basra in February was freed today after Iraqi forces stormed the house where he was being held and overwhelmed his captors.
Richard Butler, a photographer on assigment for the US network CBS, was found with a sack over his head and his hands tied inside a house in Basra, according to an Iraqi army spokesman.
Mr Butler was seized by a group of about eight masked gunmen wielding machine guns who stormed a hotel in the southern Iraqi city on February 10. His interpreter was seized along with him but freed thre days later.
He was freed today after a fierce firefight between his abductors and the army's Fourteenth Division in Basra's Jubaiyia neighbourhood, a stronghold of Shia militia. A British journalist kidnapped in Basra in February was freed today after Iraqi forces stormed the house where he was being held and o... more -
1,300 Iraqi Troops, Police Dismissed
Iraq's government moved Sunday to restore discipline within the ranks of the security forces, sacking more than 1,300 soldiers and policemen who deserted during recent fighting against Shiite militias in Basra.
At the same time, Iraq's Cabinet ratcheted up the pressure on anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr by approving draft legislation barring political parties with militias from participating in upcoming provincial elections.
National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said "Iran is very active in southern Iraq".
What do you guys make of it? Iraq's government moved Sunday to restore discipline within the ranks of the security forces, sacking more than 1,300 soldiers an... more -
Curfew called in Baghdad amid fighting; Sadr cancels million man march
Iraqi authorities have imposed a curfew on Baghdad today on the fifth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad to US forces. Muqtada Al-Sadr has also cancelled a million-man march originally planned to be staged in Baghdad today.
An official in the Baghdad operations command for Iraqi security forces has said that cars and motorcycles are banned from the streets of the Iraqi capital between 5am and midnight.
Sporadic gunfire and explosions continued across Baghdad's Sadr City district last night. Al-Sadr's Mehdi Army militia has been fighting with US and Iraqi forces in Sadr City near Baghdad for the past three days.
Al-Sadr has threatened to end his shaky 7 month old ceasefire with US forces, credited in large part to the success of Bush's "surge" strategy. In a communiqué released in Baghdad yesterday, he demanded the Iraqi government protect the public from what he called the booby traps and American militias or he would formally end the call for non-violent resistance. Iraqi authorities have imposed a curfew on Baghdad today on the fifth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad to US forces. Muqtada Al-Sadr... more -
Iraqi vs. Iraqi
The fight in Basra is being billed as the Iraqi government versus the militias of Shi'ite cleric Moktada al-Sadr.
There seems to be no breakthrough in the fighting by either side. As much as half of the city remains under militia control, hospitals in some parts of the city are reported full, and the violence continued to spread. The fight in Basra is being billed as the Iraqi government versus the militias of Shi'ite cleric Moktada al-Sadr. ... more -
Violence on Shiite holiday in Iraq
The Ashoura celebrations are the holiest of the year for Shiite's, and sadly but sort of not surprisingly, the final day of the 10 day observance was attacked by bombs and a rocket killing at least 9 worshipers in northern Iraq.
South of Baghdad, the Shiite Soldiers of Heaven cult planned to disrupt the Ashoura celebrations but were engaged in a large firefight with authorities that left at least 72 dead (total - gunmen, security and civilians), but the standoff ended after troops stormed the mosque to round up the remaining followers who were hiding inside.
And 3 suicide bombers attacked a police station in Ramadi - guards killed one of the attackers before he was able to harm anyone else, but the other two did detonate, killing at least 5 officers. The Ashoura celebrations are the holiest of the year for Shiite's, and sadly but sort of not surprisingly, the final day of the 1... more
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