Plenty of trouble afoot in Iraq

[Votingisanillusion]

At least some US soldiers are doing the right thing:

Interview with Iraq Veterans Against the War Patrick Resta: 'sent into combat unequipped and unprepared'
Kevin Zeese*

May 4, 2005

The voices of veterans who have served in Iraq is among the most important in convincing the public and government officials that the war in Iraq is wrong and the occupation must be ended. The interview below is with Patrick Resta of Iraq Veterans against the War. Patrick, who served as a combat medic in Iraq, is 26 years old and been married for five years. He grew up in central New Jersey and now lives in Philadelphia. He is a full time nursing student at the Community College of Philadelphia. His aunt and uncle were killed in the World Trade Center on September 11th and about three weeks later he was called to active duty as part of homeland security. He served for one year at Ft. Jackson, SC. Then when he began to get his life back to normal and less than one year after leaving Ft. Jackson he found out that he was being deployed again, this time to Iraq.

Zeese: Why did you join the National Guard?

Resta: I joined the National Guard for assistance with school. My parents made it clear that they weren't in a position to help me with school so I began considering my options when I was about 16 years old. In New Jersey the National Guard pays for tuition, books, and fees to any state school. If you add on to that a few hundred dollars every month it sounded like a good deal to a 17 year old kid.

Zeese: Were you surprised when you were sent to Iraq?

Resta: I wasn't surprised at all that I was sent to Iraq. What did surprise me though was how my unit and myself were sent into combat unequipped and unprepared and it didn't seem to bother anyone. I was hearing as early as October 2001 that Iraq would be invaded no matter what. Also interesting to me is the fact that some people have been to Iraq two and three times, yet you still have some people that haven't been there once.

Zeese: Where were you based in Iraq, what was your role there?

Resta: I served as a combat medic in a tank battalion. My job varied from day to day, but basically it was doing on of these three things: going on convoys to other camps to get supplies, going on patrols of towns or highways, or working in our three bed ER where we saw everything from the cold/flu to sprained ankles to gunshot wounds.

Zeese: What did you see in Iraq that convinced you that the U.S. should leave?

Resta: Pretty much everything I saw in Iraq convinced that US forces needed to leave. The in your face hypocrisy of this occupation was the most disturbing thing for me. Being told I was risking my life to help the Iraqi people and then getting over there and being told the Pentagon had set policy so no Iraqi could be treated unless they were about to die. The hypocrisy of the occupation was evident when I was told we were going to help rebuild Iraq and then watched as the only things being rebuilt were Saddam's military bases to prepare for a permanent US military presence. Every reason this administration gave to justify our presence in Iraq was the exact opposite of what was going on. While in the towns I would talk to Iraqis hoping to hear something that would make the sacrifices of my fellow soldiers worth it. What I found is that we are neither wanted nor welcome. The Iraqi people don't trust us and they don't want us there. Poll after poll has made that clear.

Zeese: The major argument for staying in Iraq is if the U.S. leaves there will be greater chaos. How do you see this -- is the U.S. minimizing the chaos in Iraq?

Resta: I always ask people to describe the situation now. Is it not chaos? To me the definition of a civil war is when people from a country kill other people from that country. That's what happening now in Iraq. US troops are the problem, not the solution. We are reliving the Vietnam War now and it's sad. We're reliving it because the people in power didn't learn anything from that event. They were too busy dreaming up ways to dodge the draft.

Tank battalions will never rebuild power and water purification plants no matter how long they stay in Iraq. Halliburton and Bechtel didn't build Iraq, so why are they rebuilding it? If you really want Iraqis to have democracy let them run their own affairs. When you break something in a store you don't sit there with crazy glue trying to piece it back together. And you most certainly don't run around with a bat breaking more things. What you do is apologize, write them a check, and get out before you do anymore damage.

Zeese: Did you get any sense when you were in Iraq that the U.S. is planning a long-term stay in the country or are we planning a brief stay until things calm down in the country?

Resta: If you go back and look you can see members of this administration talking about an invasion and long occupation of Iraq as long as a decade ago. As I said earlier I saw plenty of bases being built for a permanent US military presence. Things like barracks like you would see back here in the States. While I was in Iraq the Air Force opened up what was referred to as a "million dollar gym" at a base outside Baghdad. I never saw the receipts, but it sounds about right to me. Indoor and outdoor swimming pools. It was incredible to watch it happening and then hear the spin from the American press. You can even go to www.globalsecurity.org and find the specifics of the plan, including what units are going to Iraq for the next few years.

Zeese:: Describe the purpose of Iraq Veterans Against the War, how many members you have, what some of your upcoming projects are.

Resta: Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW, www.ivaw.net ) has a pretty simple platform. It's ending the occupation, making sure our government gives the veterans of this conflict the care that they are owed, and real aid for the people of Iraq. We have about 300 members ranging from privates to colonels. Some are still active duty, others are current members of the National Guard and Reserve, and some have just gotten out of the military. Those of us that are comfortable speaking out do so often. We're working in a lot of other areas as well, like ending stop loss, counter recruiting, and trying to create a fair and honest conscientious objector process within the military.


* Kevin Zeese is a director of DemocracyRising.US. You can comment on this blog by visiting his blog spot at http://www.DemocracyRising.US


Courtesy of By Kevin Zeese*

:: Article nr. 11539 sent on 04-may-2005 19:07 ECT

:: The address of this page is : www.uruknet.info?p=11539

 

[BBond]

Originally posted by: Deptacon


and whoever posted that post above mine, i am not reading all that.....damnn

And there you have the root of our problems.

Americans are too lazy to read. So, like Bush, they have someone else tell them what to think.

It's you, not us, who is priceless, Deptacon.

And do you or don't you have a vested interest in keeping this carnage going?

 

[Deptacon]

Originally posted by: BBond

Originally posted by: Deptacon


and whoever posted that post above mine, i am not reading all that.....damnn

And there you have the root of our problems.

Americans are too lazy to read. So, like Bush, they have someone else tell them what to think.

It's you, not us, who is priceless, Deptacon.

And do you or don't you have a vested interest in keeping this carnage going?

well you BBond, I do have better things to do then read news every single news report that gets posted on here, when I can skim through and get the idea, so no, sometimes i wont read a freaking 2 page post....espeically if I already know what it says


im really wasting my tpying time in here, am I not... well call it carnage if you want, but bombs will go off in Iraq, if we are there or not, cause the isurgents are targeting the new iraqi govt now more than us, so tell me, if it goes on either way, what do YOU plan to do???? whats your master solution.....

I hear so much iraqi is bad we shouldnt be there, BUT I HAVE NOT HEARD ONE GOOD LEGIT IDEA THAT DOESNT LEAVE THE IRAQI PEOPLE OUT TO DRY

 

[BBond]

Why don't you ask Bush for a legit idea. He's the one who created this mess.

As for me, I'd pull everyone out tomorrow just to keep you from cashing in on the carnage.

 

[Deptacon]

Originally posted by: BBond
Why don't you ask Bush for a legit idea. He's the one who created this mess.

As for me, I'd pull everyone out tomorrow just to keep you from cashing in on the carnage.

THE CARNAGE!!!!!

THE CARNAGE!!!!!

THE CARNAGE!!!!!
please, you guys are so ful lof yourselves, your capitalizing on it yourself! Right NOW! for your own politcial agenda.....

I honestly think it will all work out in the end.....

 

[arsbanned]

Your posting style sucks.

 

[Deptacon]

Originally posted by: arsbanned
Your posting style sucks.

ok, Why The Fvck should I care what you think of my posting style, you guys can't even take some sarcasim

THE CARNAGE!!!!

THE CARNAGE!!!!

THE CARNAGE!!!!

what did you call again BBond, I forgot you fear mongoring word of the week????

 

[conjur]

Insurgent Attacks Kill 20 in Baghdad
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050505/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Insurgents killed at least 20 people in three separate attacks targeting Iraqi security forces in Baghdad on Thursday, including one by a man who blew himself up while waiting in line outside an army recruitment center, police said.

A similar attack Wednesday by a suicide bomber standing in line outside a police recruitment center in the northern Kurdish city of Irbil killed 60 Iraqis and wounded 150.

The attacks are part of an escalation of violence aimed at destabilizing Iraq's new democratic government. The insurgents often target Iraqi security forces, which are being recruited and trained by the U.S.-led coalition as part of its eventual exit strategy.

The violence has left the government grappling with how to deal with an insurgency seemingly bent on escalating attacks.

[...]

As of Monday, at least 616 Iraqi police had been killed this year, according to statistics compiled by the Brookings Institution in Washington.

Not looking good on the new Iraqi security forces.

 

[conjur]

US says Syria ignoring calls to stop Iraq infiltration
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050505/pl_afp/iraqussyria

I particular like this:

"We have provided Syrians with very specific information and asked them to help in securing the Iraq-Syrian borders to stop foreign fighters from crossing into Iraq," commander of the US forces in the Gulf, General John Abizaid was quoted as telling Arabic-language Kuwaiti daily Al-Rai Al-Aam.

Rather subtle way of saying, "We can't control Iraq's borders. We are mishandling Iraq and need help."

Just wish they'd come out and say what they really mean.

 

[CellarDoor]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7737306/

?Worse-case scenario is that someone took it home,? official says

I remember reading about missing funds in Iraq and am guessing this is referring to the same thing? This article was from today so I thought it was worth posting. Someone possibly just taking the money home?!? That's absolutely ridiculous. Sorry if this has already been posted elsewhere.

 

[Starbuck1975]

Rather subtle way of saying, "We can't control Iraq's borders. We are mishandling Iraq and need help."

Interesting interpretation.

Just wish they'd come out and say what they really mean.

Here is another take on it...Syria, secure your border or we will do it for you...actually its a pretty diplomatic approach to securing Iraq, giving Syria the opportunity to contribute rather then undermine our mission in Iraq.

 

[BBond]

Originally posted by: Deptacon

Originally posted by: arsbanned
Your posting style sucks.

ok, Why The Fvck should I care what you think of my posting style, you guys can't even take some sarcasim

THE CARNAGE!!!!

THE CARNAGE!!!!

THE CARNAGE!!!!

what did you call again BBond, I forgot you fear mongoring word of the week????

ANOTHER 20 DEAD: Iraqi security hit again

More than 200 people have been killed in insurgent violence across Iraq since the new government was announced last week.

What word would you use to describe this? Annihilation, blood bath, butchery, extermination, hecatomb, mass murder, slaughter?

Take your pick.

They're all accurate.


PS Remember, money isn't everything.

 

[Deptacon]

Originally posted by: BBond

Originally posted by: Deptacon

Originally posted by: arsbanned
Your posting style sucks.

ok, Why The Fvck should I care what you think of my posting style, you guys can't even take some sarcasim

THE CARNAGE!!!!

THE CARNAGE!!!!

THE CARNAGE!!!!

what did you call again BBond, I forgot you fear mongoring word of the week????

ANOTHER 20 DEAD: Iraqi security hit again

More than 200 people have been killed in insurgent violence across Iraq since the new government was announced last week.

What word would you use to describe this? Annihilation, blood bath, butchery, extermination, hecatomb, mass murder, slaughter?

Take your pick.

They're all accurate.


PS Remember, money isn't everything.

well all of them describe really well, but its not us, its the damn insurgents, attacking IRAQI people....

and WTF does money have to do with..... OHHHH I GET IT, THE WAR FOR OIL STANCE....right :roll:

 

[conjur]

Originally posted by: Deptacon

Originally posted by: BBond
ANOTHER 20 DEAD: Iraqi security hit again

More than 200 people have been killed in insurgent violence across Iraq since the new government was announced last week.

What word would you use to describe this? Annihilation, blood bath, butchery, extermination, hecatomb, mass murder, slaughter?

Take your pick.

They're all accurate.


PS Remember, money isn't everything.

well all of them describe really well, but its not us, its the damn insurgents, attacking IRAQI people....

and WTF does money have to do with..... OHHHH I GET IT, THE WAR FOR OIL STANCE....right :roll:

Uh....yeah.


http://www.newsreview.com/issues/Sacto/2005-05-05/news.asp

While discussing the nation?s dependency on foreign oil, Lungren writes, ?I feel quite strongly that as long as we have our military in the Middle East fighting so that we can continue to purchase oil from that region, we have an obligation to find alternatives to foreign oil. It is difficult to justify the death of even one soldier when we are not doing everything in our power to explore options for oil within our country.?

Copy of letter:
http://www.newsreview.com/issues/sacto/2005-05-05/letter.pdf

 

[jjzelinski]

Originally posted by: Deptacon

Originally posted by: BBond
Why don't you ask Bush for a legit idea. He's the one who created this mess.

As for me, I'd pull everyone out tomorrow just to keep you from cashing in on the carnage.

THE CARNAGE!!!!!

THE CARNAGE!!!!!

THE CARNAGE!!!!!
please, you guys are so ful lof yourselves, your capitalizing on it yourself! Right NOW! for your own politcial agenda.....

I honestly think it will all work out in the end.....

I hope it will because there's a hell of alot at stake. If it draws out for too long without enough "apparent" progress made in Iraq, the American people will start to resent the operation more and more. Problem is the type of accomplishments made in Iraq that are acually significant are quite sublte and slow to evolve; slow and subtle doesn't lend itself to a news-byte addicted American society.

The biggest concern has been, still is, and will continue to be a Shi'te theocratic goevernment that is loyal to Iran. If Syria were to coordinate it's support for Iran and the Shi'ite majority that could be disasterous for our mission there. And don't think Sudia Arabia is on the virgre of sh1tting its pants because a Shi'ite dominated Iraq would mean one big, vicious welcome mat inviting hostiles to their border. Shi'ites and Sunni's (Suadis) don't mix very well.

 

[Votingisanillusion]

Never forget that most independant journalists have been either killed by fascist US invaders, arrested by the puppet traitors army, kidnapped by who knows who, banned from Iraq by the Pentagon,...
You can choose to believe the corrupt Pentagon's ($3,000,000,000,000 missing from the Pentagon's books) version of what is going on now in Iraq.
Or you can read the Resistance's account of the daily events in Iraq.

http://www.uruknet.info/?l=x&p=-6&size=1&hd=0

Wednesday, 4 May 2005.


Al-Anbar Province.

Ar-Ramadi.


Thirty Americans reported dead and wounded in morning bombardment of US base.

Iraqi Resistance forces mounted a violent bombardment on the US base in the College of Agriculture of al-Anbar University east of the city of ar-Ramadi (110km west of Baghdad) at 9am Wednesday morning, local time.

The local correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported witnesses as saying that 10 rockets blasted into the base, a facility operated by the Iraqi Army of Jerusalem militia before the American invasion in spring 2003. The Resistance bombardment caused heavy destruction of buildings inside the base. Four US helicopters were seen prowling above the facility after the attack, a suggestion that there were large numbers of casualties.

The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam spoke with First Lieutenant ?Aftan Mahyub of the ar-Ramadi puppet police, one of the men brought in from southern Iraq by the Americans after the local people refused to serve the invaders in the puppet forces. First Lieutenant Mahyub said that the bombardment left 30 Americans dead or wounded. He said that four Iraqi collaborators who work on the base and sleep on the facility were also killed.

For its part, the US military confirmed that the attack occurred on its propaganda radio beamed at local people, but it omitted all details about the intense attack saying only that the Marines ?returned fire.?


Al-Habbaniyah.


Resistance bombards US al-Habbaniyah base midday Wednesday.

Iraqi Resistance forces fires seven heavy 120mm mortar rounds into the US base at al-Habbbaniyah, west of Baghdad at midday Wednesday. Residents of the al-Bu Dhiyab area near the base who witnessed the attack told Mafkarat al-Islam that the barrage took place at 1pm local time and set fires blazing inside the US-occupied facility, sending plumes of smoke rising into the sky.


Deadly Resistance barrage targets US troops north of al-Fallujah late Wednesday afternoon.

In a bulletin posted at 5:35pm Mecca time Wednesday afternoon, the correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam in al-Fallujah, 60km west of Baghdad, reported that a short while before, Iraqi Resistance forces had mounted a heavy mortar barrage on a concentration of US troops north of al-Fallujah.

The correspondent reported that four 120mm mortar rounds slammed into the group of US troops near the northern train station that lies north of al-Fallujah, inflicting a number of dead and wounded among the Americans, according to a source in the puppet Iraqi army.


Baghdad.


Resistance car bomb kills reported nine puppet police in ad-Durah Wednesday night.

An Iraqi Resistance car bomb exploded in the southern Baghdad suburb of ad-Durah on Wednesday. Reuters reported that the Iraqi puppet police announced that nine members of the puppet so-called ?Iraqi national guard? were killed and 20 more wounded. The American Associated Press (AP) reported the US military as saying that as many as 15 puppet soldiers had been killed in the bombing which occurred at about 9pm Wednesday night.


Resistance blasts US Abu Ghurayb prison camp. Twenty-four US troops said killed.

Iraqi Resistance forces fired a barrage of 14 rockets and mortar rounds into the notorious US prison camp at Abu Ghurayb, 30km west of Baghdad. The rockets and mortar shells mostly blasted into the eastern parts of he camp where US troops and military vehicles are located, according to a source in the puppet police. The source told Mafkarat al-Islam that one of the rockets landed in the middle of a group of US soldiers, killing 24 American troops and wounding another 15 more.

After the bombardment, which took place at 3pm local time Wednesday afternoon, the correspondent saw a number of US helicopters flying in over the prison to evacuate casualties. The evacuation operation took nearly two hours, interspersed with sorties by US fighter planes over the city at very low altitude.


Wednesday morning Resistance bomb kills two US troops near Abu Ghurayb.

An Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded by a US armored column on the highway south of Abu Ghurayb (which is located west of Baghdad) at 10am local time Wednesday morning. Local residents told the correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam that the bomb blew up by a column of six US armored vehicles and that the blast disabled one of them, killing two US troops and wounding four more.


Salah ad-Din Province.

Samarra?.


Resistance bomb kills three US troops early Wednesday.

An Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded by a patrol of four Humvees in the as-Sikak neighborhood west of Samarra? at about 8am Wednesday morning. Witnesses told Mafkarat al-Islam that the blast destroyed on Humvee and killed three US troops and wounded two more.


Irbil Province.

Irbil.


Resistance martyrdom bomber blows up Kurdish collaborationist party office killing at least 60 Wednesday morning.

An official in the health care profession confirmed that at least 60 persons were killed and another 150 wounded when an Iraqi Resistance fighter blew himself up at the office of a Kurdish chauvinist collaborationist party in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil on Wednesday.

The attack took place at the office of the collaborationist so-called Kurdistan Democratic Party, which is led by Mas?ud al-Barzani, that also serves as a recruiting center for the puppet police. Witnesses told Reuters that they saw 25 bodies being extracted from the blast area.

The American Associated Press (AP) quoted US military sources as saying that 50 were killed and hundreds more wounded. The AP said that Karim Zinghari, the puppet so-called ?interior minister? of Irbil said that more than 300 volunteers for the puppet forces were present in the center at the time of the bombing at 9:30am Wednesday morning local time. An official of the collaborator party said that the Resistance fighter managed to get into the recruiting center and blew himself up.

Ambulances were seen racing to the area, which was a scene of chaos. Later the Ansar as-Sunnah Resistance organization claimed responsibility for the attack, which it said left 80 dead.


Babil Province.

Al-Iskandariyah.


Resistance car bomber blasts US column in al-Iskandariyah Wednesday morning, killing seven American troops.

An Iraqi Resistance martyrdom fighter drove an Opel car into a column of two US Bradley armored vehicles and several Humvees in al-Iskandariyah, south of Baghdad on Wednesday morning. The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported a source in the Iraqi puppet police as saying that the car drove into the column and blew up, destroying two Humvees and killing seven US troops and wounding one more.


Al-Latifiyah.


Resistance downs US Black Hawk helicopter Wednesday evening.

In a bulletin posted at 7:20pm Mecca time Wednesday evening, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that a short while before, Iraqi Resistance forces had shot down a US Black Hawk helicopter over the city of al-Latifiyah, 25km south of Baghdad.

The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam in al-Latifiyah reported that Resistance fighters had fired a Strela rocket at the American aircraft, which caught fire and then fell to earth north of the city. US forces immediately surrounded the site and began a search for the bodies of the crewmen all of whom were killed in the crash.


Diyala Province.

Al-Khalis.


Two US troops die in Resistance bombing in al-Khalis.

In a dispatch posted at 2:5pm Mecca time Wednesday afternoon, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that an Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded on the main road in the area of al-Khalis, northwest of Ba?qubah, as a US patrol was passing. Residents of al-Khalis told Mafkarat al-Islam that the bomb exploded by a column of five US Humvees, setting one of them ablaze and killing two US troops and wounding two more.


Al-Basrah Province.

Al-Basrah.


Stooge forces carry out more sectarian arrests.

In a continuation of the wave of Shi?i sectarian arrests perpetrated by the Anglo-American occupation regime and its local stooges four Sunni religious leaders were arrested on Tuesday evening in al-Basrah.

Witnesses told Mafkarat al-Islam that one of the four was hauled from his home in the al-Muhandisin neighborhood in the west of al-Basrah, along with his cousin who was with him at home at the time. A relative said that provincial puppet troops took them away.

Two other Sunni residents were arrested in the old al-Basrah area, one a repairman of electrical appliances who was arrested near the ?Aziz Agha Mosque after a puppet so-called ?Iraqi national guard? detachment surrounded the area. The man was severely beaten in front of the local residents when he was dragged away.

Another Sunni resident who works as a furniture upholsterer was also arrested by the puppet forces.

The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported that the way these arrests were carried out indicates a change in tactics by the occupation regime and its stooges. In the past, the reporter wrote, all arrests were carried out by the puppet ?national guard? but now provincial puppet security and puppet intelligence services have been pressed into service as the arrests of members of the Sunni community continue, greatly exacerbating sectarian tensions.


Sunni school official released by puppet forces.

The Board of Muslim ?Ulama? Scholars announced that at midday Wednesday Shaykh Kamal Faysal as-Salim, a member of the Board in the southern parts of Iraq was released by US and puppet forces. The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported that the Board issued a statement that said that the Shaykh was released as a result of efforts by Sunni organizations in the city of al-Basrah.

Puppet Intelligence forces of the puppet ?national guard? and puppet police had arrested Shaykh as-Salim, the chief supervisor of education in al-Basrah province, and the preacher in the Manawi Lajm Mosque on 30 April as a wave of sectarian arrests ? which was still underway Wednesday ? swept the area

 

[BBond]

The carnage continues in Iraq. Thanks to George W. Bush.

Suicide bomber kills 29 people, wounds 40 in Iraqi market blast - UPDATE

(Update to change death toll)

KUT, Iraq (AFX) - A suicide car bomber detonated a bomb in a crowded market in Suwayrah, some 50 km south of Baghdad, killing at least 29 people, excluding himself, and wounding 40 others, police and medics said.

'A car bomb with a suicide driver exploded at around 3.00 pm (1100

GMT) in the Mokhadar market, in the centre of Suwayrah, killing 17 and wounding 40,' police Captain Namir Ali said, speaking by telephone from Kut -- the main provincial city.

Local hospital doctor Alaa Jassem confirmed the toll, adding that six of the most severely wounded have been transferred to hospitals in Baghdad.

Police said the blast devastated the crowded market, blowing away stalls and destroying cars.

 

[MegaWorks]

http://www.uruknet.info/?l=x&p=-6&size=1&hd=0

Votingisanillusion

What a bunch of crap! Baathist and Salafy groups are called ?the Resistance? or freedom fighters! A Salafy who blow himself in a Shia mosque is considered to be a freedom fighter. Can't you see that these groups have an agenda in Iraq just like the Bush administration as one right now? Do you possibly believe that these groups will give Iraqis their rights if the US army leaves Iraq? Look what happened the day Ibrahim al-Jaafari Iraq?s first elected Prime Minister took office, bombs where floating everywhere hitting civilian targets. It?s all about Shia dominated Iraq, Arabs countries refuses to have an ?Arabic Shia country? by their sides. Watch and read their media, it's full of Crap! Calling murders ?The resistance? and spreading their hate againts Shia Iraqis. Your Resistances are people who call other Muslims infidels.

Here read what the Salafyoon teach there community ? To HATE? and they call propaganda facts: http://islamicweb.com/?folder=beliefs

 

[BBond]

So MegaWorks, what's the answer for Iraq?

The U.S. is building permanent bases in Iraq, from what I've read, and the "insurgents," or whatever they're called, won't give up as long as there is an occupation because as long as occupation troops are in Iraq the Sunnis, who are the "insurgency," believe they wont' be able to retake power. This is their goal.

Caught in the middle are the Shiite civilians whose leaders are just waiting to take over and, IMO, create what amounts to a theocracy.

To the North, the Kurds are making plans to be an independent nation and Turkey isn't happy about that.

You know the amount of information coming from Iraq is severely limited here in the U.S. We're left to try to piece together a picture of the true state of the occupation.

 

[Votingisanillusion]

MegaWorks, I am an atheist, and I believe in direct democracy, so I understand your point of view, but I do not expect the iraqi Resistance to be exclusively formed of perfect men according to my values. Likewise, the french Resistance to the nazis comprised all kinds of people, from stalinists to nationalistic fascists, but also true democrats.
But let us hear the answer of the Resistance to your criticisms.

"The relevant issue is not the number of combatants but the number of civilians supporting them".
An interview with the Iraqi Resistance
Delegation of CEOSI to Iraq, IraqSolidaridad (www.nodo50.org/iraq)

Delegation of CEOSI to Iraq, 22th April, 2005
IraqSolidaridad (www.nodo50.org/iraq), 5th May, 2005
Translated into English by Lola Oliván (CEOSI)

"The different components of the Resistance share the common aim of expelling the occupiers and reject a current ideological hegemony over the others"

Abu Yusef [1] identifies himself as representative of "[...] the patriotic current of the dissolved Iraqi Armed Forces integrated in the Resistance". Abu Yusef, slowly speaking and discreet in gestures, almost white haired whose age can be no more than 55 is a former General: "Part of the actions of the Iraqi Resistance against the occupiers are being lead by members of the former Iraqi Army" that was dissolved, with the Ba'ath Party, by the Civil Administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority, Paul Bremer, in Summer, 2003.

The corresponding political organization that integrates nationalist members of the dissolved Iraqi Army is named Free Officials Movement (FOM), which name recuperates that of a clandestine military organization made up by officials in the Monarchy period before the 1958 Revolution. With the Ba'ath Party, the Iraqi Patriotic Alliance, and the People's Union (integrated by dissidents communist leaders and militants of the collaborationist line of the Iraqi Communist Party), FOM is participating in the debate for setting up a so called National Liberation Front [2], that will be presented as the political wing of the military Resistance against occupation.

Against hegemonies and sectarism

The meeting with the Delegation of CEOSI is hold in a house in Baghdad with not particular means of security. Without being necessary to accord on it, we renounce to record the conversation or to take pictures or filming. Abu Yusef advances at the beginning of his intervention a clear definition of the Iraqi Resistance:

"The Iraqi Resistance rejects terrorism, kidnappings, extortion, assaults over houses and attacks against temples; it protects the academic and public institutions, since they are a collective patrimony of the Iraqi people. The Iraqi Resistance has as aim to expel the occupiers and to preserve the unity of the Iraqi territory and the Iraqi people"

Abu Yusef does not identify the Resistance with any ideological -nationalist or Islamic- current; neither has he expressed that one or another is the majority between the combatants: "The different components of the Resistance share the common aim of expelling the occupiers and reject a current ideological hegemony over the others". Abu Yusef is categorical regarding that the insurgent movement "[] will defend the principle of citizenship and will respect the popular will" once the liberation of the country from occupiers is achieved. He adds that it is necessary to keep the armed Resistance "[] far away from the religious fanaticism and from any ethnic or confessional identification".

Abu Yusef joins the repeated consideration of all our interlocutors while staying in Iraq regarding the intention of US and the Iraqi collaborationist forces to artificially induce a civil conflict in the Arab country [3]. He said so in a moment of the meeting when they showed us a list that includes one thousand names and details of individuals supposedly against to occupation and that are to be killed. The list -that was leaked to the Resistance by public workers of the Iraqi Interior Ministry- was jointly elaborated by the militias of the Supreme Council of Islamic Revolution in Iraq, Badr organization and the militias of Ahmad Chalabi. It would confirm the set in motion of the death squadrons in Iraq.

In the same sense, Abu Yusef criticized the fetwa (Islamic edict) by the ayatollah as-Sistani of last 22nd March, in which he sanctioned the delivery of information to the Iraqi secret and security services on the Resistance and the opposition; an edict "[] that not only does not condemns the occupation but that supports it and benefits it while deepening the project of Iraqi internal confrontation" as our interlocutor states.

Legitimate targets

Asked on the level of unification between the different armed groups, Abu Yusef points out that "[] the Resistance is in a phase of improving its coordination while the process of creating unified commands goes ahead". Abu Yusef avoids answering on the number of effectives in the Resistance and points out: "The relevant issue is not the number of combatants but the number of civilians supporting them".

The Iraqi Resistance, adds Abu Yusef, "[] is developing a different experience from that of the guerrillas movements in between the Second World War and the 70's" and taking into consideration that it dopes not counts of secure bases as it was the case, for instance, in Vietcom. Abu Yusef is in this sense very critic when it comes to stand out that any Arab country limiting Iraq is supporting by any means the Iraqi Resistance and that, on the contrary, they collaborate with the occupiers. The Iraqi Resistance, adds Abu Yusef, gets its founding exclusively by the internal Iraqi contributions.

Abu Yusef differentiates between what he calls "legitimate targets" of the armed activity from those that are not:

"The occupiers, the traitors and the collaborationists [are legitimate targets of the armed activity]. Also targets of the Iraqi Resistance are as well the Iraqi Police and the National Guard, militias created by the occupiers to protect themselves from the Resistance and that are being used currently as the vanguard of the occupation forces [in the contra-insurgent operations]".

However, Abu Yusef is categorical in pointing out that the Resistance never resorts to car-booms neither perpetrates indiscriminate attacks that kill Iraqi civilians. "The Resistance -he adds- resorts to bomb attacks in the shoulders [against the convoys of the occupation forces], to missile and mortar projectiles bombing, grenade launchers, and light armament".

Abu Yusef appeals to the expression "mixed cards" to describe the confusion and manipulation through internet that call the authorship of actions that being legitimate operations of the Resistance are being presented as terrorist attacks by some of the groups associated to Al-Qaeda or to az-Zarqawi. Sometimes, Abu Yusef adds, some of the indiscriminate actions adjudicated to these plots are, however, carried out by "[...] religious currents of foreign Arab youngs that are not associated to Al-Qaeda" and neither linked to the internal Resistance.

They are also legitimate targets the oil infrastructure while the State companies provide oil to the consortium of US companies of Halliburton, as well as the tanker trucks convoys that nourish the occupation forces with oil and that can be seen usually in the network of highways in the periphery of Baghdad escorted by US armoured military vehicles.

However, Abu Yusef indicates that not all the sabotages against pipelines are Resistance actions; an affirmation that will be repeated by other interlocutors of the Delegation of CEOSI while staying in Iraq: sometimes, particularly in the south but also in the Kirkut-Ceyhan net, in the north, some Iraqi public workers associated to mafia dam up clandestinely the spilled oil or increase the figures of burnt oil in an attack to smuggling it later.

Withdraw from Iraq

"We are sure that US is going to leave Iraq; that they are looking for a way to get out of Iraq. That's why they are establishing and protecting internal entities and [security] forces that are the continuity of the militias made up of the parties that came with the occupiers: their loyalty is to money, not to the country", affirms Abu Yusef. After quoting Winston Churchill ("US makes a mistake once, they makes the same mistake a second time but at the third time they get right"), Abu Yusef affirms that he has not doubt that soon or later the occupiers will have to open a direct negotiation with the armed Resistance -attempts of negotiations that, as other Iraqi interlocutors of CEOSI Delegation indicated, would be a fact at least since eight months ago.



Notes:

1. Abu Yusef is not necessarily a pseudonym. Popularly in the Arab country men change their original name by his first son or daughter's name preceded by Abu, "father of".

2. The Delegation of CEOSI had access to two drafts of this document elaborated by different organizations promoting the Front. In one of them, it adds to the National denomination that other of Islamist: National and Islamic Liberation Front. See in IraqSolidarity a forthcoming article.

3. Abu Yusef emphasizes the tolerance that has characterized Iraq traditionally with a personal example of curious religious syncretism: being her mother a Muslim, and due to the lateness of getting pregnant, she resorted to an image of the Iraqi Christians Virgin to get it lighting Her candles in a Christian church of Iraq.

Thanks to Lola Oliván

:: Article nr. 11575 sent on 06-may-2005 21:23 ECT

:: The address of this page is : www.uruknet.info?p=11575

:: The incoming address of this article is :
www.nodo50.org/iraq/2004-2005/docs/ceosi-iraq_resist_5-05-05.html

 

[Votingisanillusion]

Things are still looking good for the Resistance on thursday!

http://www.uruknet.info/?l=x&p=-6&size=1&hd=0

Iraqi Resistance Report for events of Thursday, 5 May 2005.
Translated and/or compiled by Muhammad Abu Nasr, member, editorial board, the Free Arab Voice. http://www.freearabvoice.org

resistancereport.jpeg


Thursday, 5 May 2005.


Al-Anbar Province.

Al-Qa?im.


Resistance shoots down, seizes unmanned US spy plane Thursday afternoon.

In a bulletin posted at 5:37pm Thursday afternoon, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that a short while before, Resistance forces had shot down an unmanned US spy plane that was on a surveillance mission over the north of the city of al-Qa?im on the border with Syria.

The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam in al-Qa?im reported witnesses as saying that the Resistance fighters seized the wreckage of the spy plane on one side of the Euphrates river while US forces were searching for it on the other side.

The correspondent reported that in the last week the Resistance in al-Qa?im had shot down three US helicopters and now this one unmanned spy plane. The US military only acknowledged that one of those aircraft had been downed.


Al-Anbar.


Resistance bombards US base Thursday afternoon.

Iraqi Resistance forces attacked the southern parts of the biggest US base west of the city of al-Anbar located by the al-Warrar Bridge with seven Katyusha rockets Thursday afternoon. The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported that the part of the base which was hit was where there are runways for US aircraft and that it is an area that comes under Resistance attack virtually on a daily basis.

The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported witnesses as saying that the attack took place at 4pm local time and that it sent four plumes of thick black smoke rising into the sky as numerous secondary explosions shook the US occupied facility.

American Apache helicopters came in in large numbers to evacuate casualties.

The Resistance group the First Army of Muhammad issued a statement declaring its responsibility for the bombardment and saying that their rockets hit their targets with total precision.


Al-Khalidiyah.


Iraqi Resistance bomb kills four US troops in al-Khalidiyah early Thursday afternoon.

An Iraqi Resistance roadside bomb exploded by a column of four US armored vehicles on the main road in the town of al-Khalidiyah, west of Baghdad at about 2pm Thursday afternoon local time. Local residents who witnessed the bombing told Mafkarat al-Islam that the blast disabled an armored vehicle, killing four US troops and wounding three more.


Al-Hadithah.


US forces seal off al-Hadithah from outside world.

In a dispatch posted at 11:15 am Thursday morning Mecca time Mafkarat al-Islam reported that US occupation forces surrounded the city of al-Hadithah in western Iraq on Thursday morning. Witnesses told Mafkarat al-Islam that American troops sealed all entrances to the city and prevented anyone from entering or leaving at 7am local time. US helicopters, meanwhile, dropped leaflets threatening the citizens that the ?grace period? they had been given several days ago had run out. The Americans had ordered the people of the city to hand in their weapons by Thursday and that time had now come.

US forces also cut off the supply of water and electricity to the city and cut off all telephone communications with al-Hadithah as well.


Baghdad.


Resistance forces battle US Marines west of Abu Ghurayb midday Thursday, killing 17 Americans.

In a bulletin posted at 2:45pm Mecca time Thursday afternoon, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that the battle that had erupted between Resistance fighters and US forces in Abu Ghurayb Thursday morning had left 17 US troops dead and more than 10 more wounded. Eleven Iraqi puppet troops were also killed in the engagement.

The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam in Abu Ghurayb reported a member of the Iraqi Resistance as saying that the fighting had left 17 American soldiers dead and 10 more wounded. He added, ?and we killed 11 Iraqi soldiers who plunged themselves into the battle in support of the occupation.?

An adjutant in the puppet so-called ?police shock force,? Colonel Nazim Fadli told Mafkarat al-Islam that what he called ?terrorists? (meaning Resistance fighters) used the lay of the land and the location in their favor and surprised the ?multinational forces? (as he called the Americans) in a big way, using pipe rockets and self-propelled rockets. The puppet colonel said that several of the ?terrorists? were able to surround a number of the troops coming from the north to support the ?multinational? forces and killed 11 of them.

The colonel told Mafkarat al-Islam that the Resistance fighters withdrew from the battle zone after spreading death and destruction among the Americans.

At the time of reporting, US troops had surrounded the whole area and imposed a curfew on residents. They had begun a campaign of house raids and had arrested a number of custodians of mosques during the noon prayers on charges that they had carried out the attack and then took cover in the mosuques.

Earlier, in a bulletin posted at 12:55pm Mecca time Thursday, a correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported that fighting had broken out between US Marine forces and the Islamic Army in Iraq in the western suburbs of Abu Ghurayb, 30km west of Baghdad..

The correspondent in the city reported that more than 50 Resistance fighters attacked a US Marine column that was on patrol in the area. Witnesses told the correspondent that the Resistance set four US Humvees ablaze and killed ?numerous? US troops. Various other sources confirmed that report.

Iraqi puppet troops headed for the area from the north in an attempt to come to the assistance of the Marines.


Resistance bomb blasts US convoy in ad-Durah Thursday afternoon, killing one American.

An Iraqi Resistance roadside bomb exploded by a column of several US military supply trucks on the highway to the southern Baghdad suburb of ad-Durah at 4pm Thursday afternoon local time. Local residents told Mafkarat al-Islam that the blast set one of the trucks on fire and killed one US soldier and wounded a second.


Six puppet police killed in Resistance attack in al-?Amil district of Baghdad Thursday morning.

Iraqi Resistance fighters attacked a column of puppet police cars in the al-?Amil neighborhood of western Baghdad on Thursday morning, killing six puppet policemen and wounding two more. One police car was set ablaze in the attack, according to al-Jazeera satellite TV as monitored by Mafkarat al-Islam in a report posted at 8:55am Thursday morning.


Resistance bomber targets home of puppet police official.

An Iraqi Resistance fighter drove an explosives-laden car into the home of a deputy of the puppet so-called ?Iraqi interior ministry? for police affairs Major General Hikmat Musa Sulayman in the al-Kafa?at area of western Baghdad early Thursday morning, killing one of Sulayman?s guards and wounding six more, according to a source in the puppet so-called ?interior ministry? quoted by al-Jazeera. The Army of the Partisans of the Sunnah took responsibility for the attack, promising still more against the Kurdish chauvinists, in particularly the collaborationist so-called Kurdistan Democratic Party led by Mas?ud al-Barzani.


Martyrdom car bomber blasts puppet army recruiting station in Baghdad early Thursday.

In a report posted at 8:55am Mafkarat al-Islam said that a satellite TV news service had reported the puppet ?Iraqi interior ministry? as saying that a Resistance fighter had blown himself up near a recruiting station for the puppet forces near the al-Muthanna airport in the western part of Baghdad Thursday morning, killing at least 15. Eight other persons were wounded, the report said. The report said that the attacker was on foot and broke into queues of collaborationists lined up to join the puppet force.

In a bulletin posted at 7:35am Thursday morning Mecca time, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that an Iraqi Resistance martyrdom fighter had driven an explosives-laden car into a puppet army recruiting center in Baghdad, according to an al-Jazeera satellite TV station report. The preliminary report indicated that the blast had inflicted damage.


Babil Province.

Al-Latifiyah.


Resistance bomb kills three US troops in al-Latifiyah Thursday.

In a dispatch posted at 3:06pm Mecca time Thursday afternoon, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that an Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded by a patrol of six US Humvees on the main road in al-Latifiyah, south of Baghdad on Thursday. Residents of the city who witnessed the attack told the Mafkarat al-Islam correspondent that the blast destroyed one Humvee and killed three US troops and wounded two more.


Al-Hillah.


Resistance batters Polish base in al-Hillah Thursday morning.

Iraqi Resistance forces belonging to the Brigades of Islamic Rage launched a violent attack on the Polish aggressor base north of al-Hillah, pounding the Poles with rockets and mortar rounds Thursday morning.

The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported that at exactly 10am Thursday, local time, the Resistance group opened fire. The Brigades fired 22 Grad rockets and heavy mortar shells into the Polish-occupied facility. Explosions rocked the Polish camp that were so powerful that they could be heard throughout the city of al-Hillah. More than eight plumes of black smoke enveloped the entire area. US helicopters and Iraqi puppet forces raced to the Polish base. The Poles did not return fire or do anything to respond to the attack.

The correspondent met with Sergeant Salih Sawwadi of the Iraqi puppet army who confirmed that Poles had been killed and wounded in the camp, but would not provide any exact numbers. Sawwadi said, however, that the material damage done to the camp was far greater than the number of casualties.

The Brigades of Islamic Rage announced their responsibility for the attack in a communiqué, a copy of which was obtained by the correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam.


Diyala Province.

Ba?qubah.


Seven US troops killed when Resistance attacks American convoy in Ba?qubah.

In a dispatch posted at 1:40pm Mecca time Thursday, Mafkarat al-Islam reported Iraqi Resistance forces attacked a column of several US military supply trucks in the city of Ba?qubah, east of Baghdad on Thursday. Witnesses told the correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam in the city that Resistance fighters, in positions behind concrete barricades that had been set up all along the street, attacked the convoy in the al-Mafraq (Crossroads) area with machine guns and pipe rocket launchers. The attack left three of the trucks on fire, killing their drivers, who were members of the US military supply and provision division. The Resistance also destroyed a Humvee in the attack, killing four US troops instantly. One member of the Resistance unit was martyred in the battle and two more wounded.

The American military admitted that the attack took place and that two of its trucks were set on fire, but provided no information on their casualties in an announcement they issued midday Thursday in Baghdad. A source in the Iraqi puppet police in Ba?qubah, however, confirmed the attack and said that seven US troops had been killed in the engagement.


Puppet police forced depositions from captives.

US forces backed by their Iraqi stooges arrested two workers at the al-Aqsa mosque in Ba?qubah on Friday, 29 April 2005, after the puppet police gunned down the imam and preacher of the mosque Shaykh ?Abd ar-Razzaq Rashid ad-Dulaymi. The puppet forces denied shooting the Shaykh after he came out to their vehicles, claiming that he ?committed suicide.?

The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam reported Thursday that the two men had now been released. They spoke with the correspondent and said that while they were in custody the puppet police threatened them to try to make them come out with false claims regarding the Friday incident, namely that the Shaykh had blown himself up with explosives that he had brought to attack the puppet police.

The two men said that they were forced to sully the Shaykh?s reputation by attributing immoral acts to him.

The Iraqi puppet police filmed the forced ?depositions? of the two captives for broadcast on the propaganda TV station ?al-?Iraqiyah.?

Witnesses who saw the body of Shayk ?Abd ar-Razzaq confirmed that the Shaykh had been killed by bullets fired in his eye and elsewhere in his body and not by explosives as the puppet police claimed in a story then broadcast by the media.


Salah ad-Din Province.

At-Tarimiyah.


Resistance bomb kills two US troops in at-Tarimiyah Thursday evening.

An Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded in the middle of an unpaved road under a column of five Humvees in at-Tarimiyah, just north of Baghdad at about 7pm local time Thursday night. Local residents who witnessed the attack told Mafkarat al-Islam that the bomb went off as a Humvee in the column was passing over it and that the blast destroyed the vehicle and killed two US troops. Three other American soldiers were severely wounded.


Ninwa Province.

Mosul.


Resistance martyrdom bomber kills eight US troops, mortally wounds one more in moring attack in Mosul.

In a dispatch posted at 10am Mecca time Thursday morning, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that an Iraqi Resistance martyrdom fighter drove a gray explosives-laden Opel car into a US military column in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul Thursday morning. The correspondent for Mafkarat al-Islam in the city reported Captain Bassam Ahmad of the puppet police as saying that the Resistance attacker blasted into an American column in the northern part of Mosul that was heading out of the city into the wooded area. The attacker burst suddenly out from a side street at the Americans, who were on the main road.

The explosion destroyed two Humvees and disabled a third, killing eight US troops and mortally wounding another. Witnesses told Mafkarat al-Islam that some of the Americans were burned to death inside one of the wrecked vehicles.

For its part the US military then encircled the area and used loudspeakers to broadcast threats against anyone coming out of his house even to stand on his doorstep.


Tall ?Afar.


Resistance martyrdom car bomber kills six US troops Thursday evening.

An Iraqi Resistance martyrdom fighter drove an explosives-laden Opel car into a US armored column at the entrance to the city of Tall ?Afar in northern Iraq at 6pm Thursday evening. Local residents who witnessed the attack told Mafkarat al-Islam that the Resistance attacker broke into the column of armored vehicles and blew himself up, destroying one US armored vehicle and killing six Americans and wounding another four.


Irbil Province.

Irbil.


South Korean invader troops placed on red alert.

Informed media sources reported that the contingent of south Korean aggressor troops based in the far north Iraqi city of Irbil have been placed on a higher state of alert ? red alert ? the next-to-the-highest in their reckoning, following the powerful Resistance bombing that killed 60 collaborators at the Irbil headquarters of the Kurdish chauvinist so-called Kurdistan Democratic Party on Wednesday.

The south Korean Yon Hap news agency reported that the south Korean invader troops in Irbil have never been on red alert since their arrival in the north of the country where they serve the United States. In keeping with red alert, the south Korean invader troops are required to take more precautionary measures within their base and not venture outside the base.

Yon Hap said that the south Korean regime?s defense department refused comment on the raising of the alert status for its aggressor forces.

South Korea, a satellite of the United States and itself occupied by at least 37,000 American troops, sent a contingent of 3,600 men ? the third-largest aggressor contingent in occupied Iraq (after the US and Britain, and not counting the estimated 20,000 mercenaries of various nationalities in the country) ? to help facilitate the US occupation and plunder of Iraq.


An-Najaf Province.

An-Najaf.


Resistance group targets Iranian intelligence hit men in attack in an-Najaf.

Iraqi Resistance forces armed with machine guns attacked a car carrying Iranians in the southern Iraqi city of an-Najaf at about 9am Thursday morning, destroying the car and killing four Iranians.

Mafkarat al-Islam reported a source in the local puppet police as saying that the four Iranians were simply pilgrims, come to visit the Shi?i shrines in the city.

The Iraqi Resistance organization Salafi Squadrons of Purification issued a statement announced its responsibility for the attack and saying that the four Iranians were agents of Iranian intelligence who had entered Iraq with the help of the Shi?i chauvinist, collaborationist Badr Brigades, on a mission to assassinate prominent members of the Sunni community and Sunni religious in southern Iraq.

 

[conjur]

Bombers kill 67 Iraqis, pressuring new cabinet
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=s...d=578&e=1&u=/nm/20050506/ts_nm/iraq_dc

Suicide bombers killed at least 67 Iraqis on Friday in escalating violence that has cast doubts over the new government's ability to defeat insurgents.

ADVERTISEMENT

In the deadliest blast, a suicide car bomber struck a vegetable market in a southern Iraqi town, killing at least 58 people and wounding 44, police and hospital officials said.

The attack hit the mostly Shi'ite town of Suwayra, reinforcing fears that guerrilla violence will fuel growing sectarian tensions and ignite a civil war.

[...]

Guerrilla bombings and other attacks have killed more than 250 people since the cabinet was announced eight days ago, putting pressure on politicians who have promised stability.

It's not going to end until we pull out completely and the Iraqis are able to setup a government of their own people.

 

[BBond]

Still more carnage.

2 Americans among 22 killed in Baghdad

Attacks persist as Iraq announces agreement on final Cabinet posts

MSNBC News Services
Updated: 10:47 a.m. ET May 7, 2005

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Two suicide car bombs exploded in a central Baghdad square Saturday, killing 22 people, including two Americans, the U.S. Embassy said.

In a separate incident, a U.S. Marine was killed by a bomb Saturday in central Iraq, the military said.

The Marine died of injuries caused by an explosion during combat operations in Karmah, 80 kilometers 50 miles west of Baghdad, the military said in a statement. The Marine was assigned to Regimental Combat Team-8, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force.

The name of the deceased Marine was withheld pending notification of next of kin.

Meantime, Iraqi political leaders have agreed who will fill five vacant Cabinet ministries and one of two deputy prime minister's slots in the new democratically elected government, ending an impasse that has consumed officials for more than three months, Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari said.

Also on Saturday, the government said Iraqi security forces have captured an aide to Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the al-Qaida leader in Iraq.

Suicide car bombs strike Tahrir Square
Iraqi officials said about 30 people also were wounded in the attack in Tahrir Square, where shops were damaged and cars were burned by the blasts. The remains of mutilated bodies were seen lying in the street as fire trucks fought the blaze, which sent a large plume of black smoke up into the sky.

Iraqi police initially said the attack involved one suicide car bomb, but U.S. Embassy spokesman Adam S. Hobson later said there were two. He said the two Americans killed were contract workers, but he did not identify the company they worked for.

The blasts damaged al-Aqida Secondary School in the square and a minibus driving by with students from a nearby school, and five school girls were wounded, officials said.

Iman Norman rushed to al-Kindi Hospital to be with her wounded 12-year-old daughter, Lana, who was aboard the minibus. Iman said the students escaped through the bus? windows in their bloodied uniforms after the bomb damaged its doors. Lana?s injury was not serious, but one student lost an eye, Norman said.

The attacks were part of a surge in violence that has killed nearly 290 people ? many of them Iraqi soldiers and police ? since Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari?s new government was sworn in April 28.

'All the ministries have been filled'
Separately, President Jalal Talabani and his two vice presidents have signed off on the names of those chosen to fill the vacant Cabinet ministries, which will be submitted to the 275-member National Assembly for a vote Sunday, al-Jaafari told reporters. He declined to give the names.

"All the ministries have been filled and the presidential council has approved them," al-Jaafari said. "The names will be given to the National Assembly on Sunday and you will hear the names then."

Al-Jaafari had promised to form a government that includes all of Iraq's major ethnic and religious groups after his Shiite-dominated alliance won a majority of seats in landmark parliamentary elections on Jan. 30. But bickering over Cabinet positions dragged on for months.

Members of the disaffected Sunni Arab minority -- believed to make up the backbone of Iraq's deadly insurgency -- protested when they were only given four ministries in the partial Cabinet sworn in April 28.

Members of al-Jaafari's United Iraqi Alliance have said Sunnis will get at least two more ministries -- including the key defense portfolio -- and a deputy prime minister's slot. Al-Jaafari confirmed Saturday that the human rights minister would be a Sunni, but gave no further details on those selected.

He said he hoped to find a woman to be the fourth deputy prime minister.

Shiite leaders have rejected numerous candidates submitted by Sunni negotiators because of ties to Saddam Hussein's regime, which brutally repressed Shiites and Kurds.

Earlier Saturday, a senior Shiite cleric and lawmaker, Jala Aldin al-Saghir, said the top Sunni candidate for defense minister was now Saadoun al-Duleimi, a former army lieutenant colonel who left Iraq in 1984 and lived in exile in Saudi Arabia until Saddam's fall in April 2003. Al-Duleimi comes from the predominantly Sunni city of Anbar in the tense western Anbar province.

Alliance lawmakers have said the oil ministry will go to Ibrahim Bahr al-Uloum, a Shiite who served in the position in the former U.S.-appointed Governing Council. Mihsin Shlash, an independent Shiite lawmaker, is expected to be electricity minister.

Al-Zarqawi aide arrested
Meantime, a government statement said Iraqi forces arrested Ghassan al-Rawi, identified as the militant leader of the western town of Rawa, in late April.

It identified Rawi as a Zarqawi lieutenant in the western town who facilitated meetings for senior officials in Zarqawi?s group. It said two of his assistants were also seized.

Iraqi and U.S. officials say they are closing in on Zarqawi, whose group has claimed some of the deadliest bombings in Iraq.

The U.S. military says it almost caught Zarqawi in February after pursuing a car in which he was travelling in western Iraq. Zarqawi fled the vehicle and escaped but his laptop was seized.

The Iraqi government statement said Rawi confessed to meeting Zarqawi once in January and facilitated his stay with an associate for five days.

The government said Rawi had kidnapped civilians and demanded ransoms and that security forces found weapons and cars being prepared for bombings when they detained him.

Surge in violence
Violence has surged in Iraq since Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari announced his new government on April 28.

* Two suicide car bombs killed at least 24 Iraqis on Friday. One bomb exploded at a market in Suwayrah, killing at least 16 people and wounding 47, police said. The other bomb destroyed a police minibus at a checkpoint in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit, killing at least eight policemen and wounding seven people, officials said.
* Suicide bombers with explosives strapped to their bodies set them off in lines of job applicants outside two recruitment centers for security forces in Baghdad and the northern city of Irbil, killing 73 people this week.
* On Friday, scavengers sifting through garbage stumbled across at least 12 bodies at a dump in Kasra Waatash, on the northeastern edge of Baghdad, police and soldiers said. Families identified some of the victims as farmers who disappeared recently on their way to a market to sell their produce, a morgue official said.
* Two insurgents shot at American soldiers on patrol in south Baghdad early Friday, and one militant was killed in the return fire, the U.S. military said. Another insurgent was detained, the statement said.
* Militants holding an Australian engineer hostage issued a 72-hour ultimatum for Australia to start pulling troops out of Iraq, Arab television station al-Jazeera reported Friday.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

 

[conjur]

Those two Americans were commandos for Blackwater. That was the DoD's subtle way of putting more "forces" into Iraq but on the down-low and at a much higher cost to the American taxpayers.

 

[BBond]

And there is more happening in Iraq than physical carnage. There is also a carnage of justice as Bush brings the Republican version of "Freedom and Democracy"? to "The New Iraq"?.

U.S. Holding Journalists Without Charge in Iraq

Meanwhile, the US military has admitted that US and Iraqi forces are holding without charge nine Iraqi journalists working for international news organizations. The military says they are being held on suspicion of aiding resistance fighters. Some of them have been held for several months. The US military is believed to be holding two journalists for Agence France Press, though US officers could only confirm the detention of one, recently transferred to the notorious Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad. Also among the imprisoned news workers is a cameraman working for CBS, who was wounded by US-led forces as he covered the aftermath of a bomb explosion in Mosul in April. CBS says he is being charged with QUOTE "being a danger to the coalition forces", according to CBS. He was transferred to Abu Ghraib on April 22. At least 17,000 Iraqis are currently detained by US and Iraqi forces, most of them without formal charges.