When Iraq's 'well trained' military officials call in strikes on 'terrorists,' there's always a strong chance -- a very strong chance -- that they're killing civilians. It's not like 100% of the time it happens, though.
Sometimes, for example, they instead end up killing other Iraqi military. Yet again, that's happened today.
National Iraqi News Agency reports 2 Iraqi soldiers are dead, six more injured, as a result of a bombing "mistake" that hit, get this, the "military headquarters." Yeah. Not just soldiers on the road mistakenly bombed, but "headquarters belonging to the regiment fourth brigade."
Well, they're only as good as their leader.
And where is their leader?
When you consider that Nouri al-Maliki, chief thug of Iraq and prime minister who refuses to fade, is supposed to be gone in approximately two weeks, it's rather strange that NINA reports that he visited Spyker Air Base in Salahuddin yesterday or that he's in Karbala today inspecting military units. He's usually holed up in Baghdad, so what exactly is going on?
As Nouri's behavior raises questions, he can always count on cheap liars. Yes, Chris Hill has re-entered the picture. The American disaster has a column insisting Nouri's not the real issue. This is the same Chris Hill who sidelined General Ray Odierno -- then the top US commander in Iraq -- because he was jealous of the fact that the press respected Odierno.
At the time he was demanding the White House tell the top US commander in Iraq that he no longer speak to the press, that all press dealings would come through Hill.
While Chris Hill was focused on being belle of the ball, Odierno was concerned, ahead of the March 2010 elections, that Nouri might lose the elections (as did happen) and that Nouri might refuse to step down (as he did). Chris had no time to work through the odds, he was too busy, when not preening for a press (which largely rejected him -- his reputation was awful), he spent his time getting cozy with Nouri.
Please grasp that the stupidity and ignorance of Chris Hill did much to set back progress in Iraq and that what his stupidity and ignorance didn't harm, Hill's vanity did.
Since the failure -- the epic failure -- that is Hill refuses to go away, we'll revisit the topic in today's snapshot. And we warned against Hill after attending his confirmation hearing. He knew nothing about Iraq and this was after he'd been extensively prepped by the administration's team to 'sail' through his hearing.
Chris Hill is a disaster who should be apologizing publicly, not rewriting history to mitigate his own culpability.
In other news this morning, AFP reports a suicide bomber has attacked a Shi'ite mosque in Baghdad, taking his own life and the lives of at least 11 other people.
Bonnie reminds that Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "Golfing" went up last night.
On this week's Law and Disorder Radio, an hour long program that airs Monday mornings at 9:00 a.m. EST on WBAI and around the country throughout the week, hosted by attorneys Heidi Boghosian, Michael S. Smith and Michael Ratner (Center for Constitutional Rights)
topics addressed include . . .? Gaza, Gaza. No Iraq. No segment on Iraq. No legal look at the bombings or at the increased US involvement or anything like that. They do try to do a Ferguson type story but their silence on Iraq is appalling.
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