Iraq shows up on A11 of this morning's New York Times, Solomon Moore and Mudhafer al-Husaini's "Deadly Bombing Mars Iraqi Celebration" and if the story looks familiar both in terms of information and angle, you may be remembering the US military press release on it that we noted yesterday. After Moore and al-Husaini have taken care of that, they note that the recent trip to England by the puppet of the occupation, Nouri al-Maliki, reportedly for health reasons is now officially been said to have been for "exhaustion" and quotes him telling a British newspaper of the "Awakening" Council's, "The government supports the Awakening Councils, but it must safeguard itself from infiltration. We, as a government, have intelligence now that the Baathists ordered its members to join the Awakening Council and that Al Qaeda did that as well." Well, at least unlike the US government, he draws a division between the two. (The US government lumps multiple groups under "terrorists" and/or "insurgents" and applies al Qaeda in Mesopotamia to both.) So the puppet's back in Iraq. The "Awakening" Council is repeatedly targeted (the reporters cover one incident that was noted here yeaterday) and what else?
The US military announces three more deaths [PDF format warning] today: "A Multi-National Division - Baghdad Soldier was killed and three others wounded when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle during combat operations in southern Baghdad on Jan. 6."
Lloyd notes Amit R. Paley's "Bombing Kills 5 at Baghdad Festival" (Washington Post)
who reports various figures have been given for the death toll of Iraqis from the Baghdad bombing Sunday (as little as three people, as many as nine) and notice this:
The U.S. military announced that an American soldier was killed and three were wounded in southern Baghdad when a roadside bomb exploded next to their vehicle. No other details were released.
See, outside the Times, it is possible to note deaths of US service members. Paley also reports Christian structures targeted in a Mosul bombing yesterday: "Two churches, a convent and an orphanage were damaged, the officials said, but no one was injured, in large part because so many Christians have fled the city after repeated threats against them since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion."
On the return of the puppet, an Iraqi correspondents writes in "No difference" (McClatchy Newspapers' Inside Iraq):
The Prime Minister Mr. Nouri Al-Maliki arrived in Iraq today after a week of being in London for medical treatment. The news is still good to have our prime in Iraq with his people to do his responsibility, but the strange thing is to have blocked streets having some people raising the prime minister's pictures in hands and shouting for his long live welcoming his coming back home to show off the people's love of their beloved prime minister while the real Iraqi people were in some other blocked streets which are blocked for security reasons as they heard or to have celebrated people of the coming of their prime minister.
The people in the blocked streets were upset to make them stuck without reaching their destination for no reasonable purpose, but for showing off a celebration or having the prime minister in Iraq. This thing reminds us of the former regime during Saddam's reign when that regime used to have demonstrations and celebrations of such kinds forcing people to be in streets to make the world see them trying to convince them that the government is from the people and for them. I think the Iraqi people are smart enough to know who made this small demonstration and for what reason. Also the Iraqi people fed up with celebrations and speeches having one thing to be achieved which is Iraq for Iraqis no more.
Today on WBAI's Cat Radio Cafe (2:00 p.m. EST, streams online) Janet Coleman and David Dozer will have Judith Malina and Pat Russel who are acting in Maudie & Jane at The Living Theatre as well as the play's director Hanon Resnikov, actresses Margi Shapr and Rachel Murdy from The Millay Sisters: A Cabaret and the director Cynthia Croot, and Christine Corpuz who is starring in Nothing Like My Mother and her director Rome Neal.
solomon moore
mcclatchy newspapers
