The Common Ills

Saturday, July 14, 2007

4 Journalists Killed in Iraq This Week

"Is the car registered in your name?"
"Yes."
"Papers." I give him my papers. He isn't looking at them. Why, then, did he ask for them??
Another walks up. "You're a doctor, aren't you? I remember you. You work at the Nursing Home. I know you because I used to work there." His eyes dark were looking straight into mine, but they were mocking ,not serious.
Until he brought up the "doctor" matter, I was OK. Just another checkpoint. I took out my papers sixteen times on my way home the other day. But doctors were different. Targeted by kidnappers for ransom money, and sometimes killed. But more dangerous, they were targeted by people with an agenda that says "Harass Iraqi doctors until they flee; if they don't run ,kill them."
"No, you must be mistaking me for someone else." Sweet smile. Heart pounding. "I'm a teacher, not a doctor." Keeping my hands steady and relaxed on the steering wheel was a feat.
"Why are you lying? I know you. Don't lie to us!!" his piercing eyes still mocking me , daring me to say what I wanted to say, that they were toying with their pray ,that there was something very wrong here. The "us" worried me. Who were they?? Uniforms don't mean anything nowadays.
"Pull up to the side of the road" Trying to move my foot to comply with the "order", I realized the extent of my fear, my foot wouldn't budge. It was numb, dead.

The above is from Inside Iraq (McClatchy Newspapers) "Go!" and you can read that as a typical day in Iraq. More so now that approximately 100 journalists have died in Iraq. Thursday, the US military killed two working for Reuters. On Friday, one working for the New York Times was killed. With more on Friday's death, this is from John F. Burns' "In a Baghdad Killing, Questions That Haunt Iraq:"

At 8:45 a.m. on Friday, Khalid W. Hassan was navigating his car out of one of Baghdad’s most dangerous neighborhoods on his way to work as a reporter and interpreter at The New York Times bureau here. "My area is blocked," he wrote in a cellphone text message to the paper’s newsroom manager. "I am trying to find a way out."
Within 45 minutes, about two miles from his home, Mr. Hassan, whose Palestinian family migrated to Iraq in 1948, was forced to the side of the road by gunmen in a black Mercedes. The gunmen opened fire with automatic rifles, pitting Mr. Hassan’s rundown Kia car with bullets. At least one struck him in the upper body, but failed to kill him.
Mr. Hassan, a heavyset, pranksterish 23-year-old, loved the new world of cellphones, online computers and downloadable videos ushered in by the American occupation of Iraq, so much so that he spent a quarter of his monthly salary recently on another new phone. Slumped in his seat, he called his mother, then his father, at work as a school caretaker, telling them he had been shot. "I'm O.K., Mom," he said.
An off-duty policeman in a gasoline station line told Mr. Hassan's father what came next. A second car with gunmen, an Opel Vectra, seeing Mr. Hassan on his cellphone, pulled forward and fired two fatal shots into Mr. Hassan’s head and neck.

And Reuters is reporting that one of their translators (unnamed at the request of the family) was shot dead (along with two brothers) in Baghdad Wednesday. That's four journlists killed from Wednesday through Friday. All died in Baghdad.

Today the US military announced: "One Multi-National Division - Baghdad Soldier was killed and another wounded when an explosively-formed penetrator detonated near their patrol during combat operations in an eastern section of the Iraqi capital July 14." And they announced: "A Task Force Marne Soldier was killed when a landmine detonated during a dismounted patrol today." ICCC's total currently is 3612 US service members have died in Iraq since the start of the illegal war and 33 for the month of July thus far. I believe that's one short (today's had two announcements thus far and I'm only seeing one noted by ICCC).

Meanwhile, Bushra Juhi's "Al-Maliki: Iraqis Can Handle Security" (Associated Press) tells you that the puppet's making noises that he's in control and can handle things when the US leaves but instead of focusing on his attempts to shore up crumbling support in DC, we'll note this section:

But one of his top aides, Hassan al-Suneid, rankled at the assessment, saying the U.S. was treating Iraq like "an experiment in an American laboratory." He sharply criticised the U.S. military, saying it was committing human rights violations, embarassing the Iraqi government with its tactics and cooperating with "gangs of killers" in its campaign against al-Qaeda in Iraq.
Al-Suneid's comments were a rare show of frustration toward the Americans from within al-Maliki's inner circle as the prime minister struggles to overcome deep divisions between Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish members of his coalition and enact the American-drawn list of benchmarks.

Tomorrow (Sunday) at 1:00 pm EST on RadioNation with Laura Flanders, Camilo Mejia, Dave Zirin and Laila Al Arian will be among the guests. The program airs on Air America Radio, on XM satellite radio and streams online. In addition, it's carried by other commercial free radio stations across the country and an archived broadcast goes up mid-week. Flanders is also on Air America Radio during the week, on the "The Air Americans", with Mark Riley. Wait, we're not done. Event on Monday, NYC, in which Flanders will be participating:

The Culture Project and Women Center Stage Present: People Power vs. the Right's Advance: The Case of South Dakota.
Monday, July 16th, 7pm at the Culture Project, 55 Mercer St. in downtown Manhattan.
Laura Flanders will lead a discussion of one of the most noteworthy victories of 2006.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY!
Against overwhelming odds, South Dakotans reversed a no-exceptions abortion ban. How did they do it? How did regional and national allies help? With more threats to reproductive justice looming at the local and federal level, this is a unique opportunity to talk directly with women who were there:
* Charon Asetoyer, Founder and Executive Director of the Native American Women's Health Education Resource Center in South Dakota.
* Sondra Goldschein, State Strategies Attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union's Reproductive Freedom Project.
* Nancy Goldstein, Director of Communications & Development for National Advocates for Pregnant Women.
* Laura Ross, founder of Women Run! South Dakota, a state-based PAC that helped 23 pro-choice Democratic women (including Asetoyer) run for office in '06.
* Cari Sietstra, founder and former executive director of Law Students for Choice.
Laura Flanders is the host of RadioNation on Air America Radio and the author of BLUE GRIT: True Democrats Take Back Politics from the Politicians. Books will be available for signing at the event.Panelists will take questions from the audience and the media. Please forward this message to your lists. And come early -- seating is limited.
GET YOUR TICKET TODAY.
For more information, or to buy tickets ($15) go to
http://lauraflanders-com.c.topica.com/maag4hZabzSaAbQccDub/
Tickets can also be obtained at the Culture Project Box Office at 55 Mercer Street (@Broome). Queries: please call 212 232 0255 or write to boxoffice@cultureproject.org

Martha noted the above and hoped they could make the snapshot on Friday. It had already gone up. On the plus side, it will run in the print edition of The Third Estate Sunday Review, distributed on their old campus, which actually will be the better target audience for the event. I'm sorry we weren't able to include it in the snapshot.

On other things that should have been noted, Tom Joad maintains a list of war resisters. Ideally, it will be on the permalinks no later than Sunday evening (Sunday evening ends when I go to sleep which may be early Monday morning). In a landscape where so many make a point to ignore them or slam them, it's good to know a site exists just to note their courage and list them.

On things we will not note . . . I don't dislike Chris Hedges. I do, however, know that when you talk about one source lying to you, if there was a second source, you not only talk about them, you out them. According to the New York Times co-authored by Hedges, front paged and linking Saddam Hussein to 9-11, two sources gave him and the other reporter the information. One source (thanks to Mother Jones' work) was exposed as a complete liar and fraud. Hedges needs to name the second source. That's basic journalism and he knows that. Two visitors are so offended that this was brought up ("brought up again!!!!" wrote one this morning). Tough. There is the BIG LIE that Judith Miller and only Judith Miller got it wrong/ took stenography. As I have pointed out repeatedly, that lie allows a lot of people to go scott free. If we're noting Hedges and the topic is Iraq, it is incumbent to note that in October 2001 he co-authored a now infamously discredited article promoting a non-existant link between 9-11 and Iraq: terrorists were training to hijack planes at a camp in Iraq! Now you probably remember that dopey story (it also aired, in cooperation with the paper, on PBS). Hedges has been noted here and at other community sites on other topics and we don't note the Iraq story. The now widely discredited story. But when he's noted on something to do with Iraq it is incumbent to note that he co-authored the piece that put out the lie about the plane hijacking camps in Iraq. "That's just not nice to write," offered one e-mailer.

I'm not interested in "nice." (Or, as Holly Near sings, "I'm tired of being nice . . .") I'm interested in reality and reality is that one of the worst lies that the administration put out there (and the administration was behind that lie) was popularized (as true) by Hedges. That may not be "nice" or "pretty" but it is reality. When Mother Jones was being interviewed for that article, people bent over backwards to not name co-author Hedges. They either cited the other author or just went with "New York Times" (during discussions with the author of the Mother Jones piece). I'm real sorry Hedges got it so wrong (trust me, I'm real sorry) but that is reality. Does it make him a "bad" person? No. But it is required when he writes about Iraq that it is noted. (And it should be required that he name the second source.) The second e-mailer said, "The left always need to support the left." Really? Always? Judith Miller started out print wise at The Progressive.

The infamously false article was one of the earliest to sound the drum beats for war with Iraq. It is completely discredited as journalism and it should have been obviously false in real time. Two 'insiders' (only one of which has been named -- was the State Dept. the second source for the article?) claim that there are terrorist camps training hijackers in Iraq and that appears on the front page of the New York Times a month after 9-11. That false claim still lives on. I'm sorry that some get the heebie jeebies when it's noted that Hedges co-authored it, but that is reality. A while back, when Alissa J. Rubin was wrong about something (I don't even remember what now), I noted that the next day's article spent far too long correcting/explaining how that was wrong to begin with (next day's article by Rubin). It will happen. Things will be wrong. Rubin's error wasn't so grave as to require that she don a hairshirt. Though Hedges doesn't need to don a hairshirt, his error was grave. And at a time when passions were already running so high in the immediate aftermath of 9-11, that laughably sourced article should have not only not been run, it shouldn't have been written.

The way the popular narrative is re-written, Bully Boy, in the fall of 2002, began linking 9-11 to Iraq. We all know that's a lie. Richard Clarke has noted how he was repeatedly instructed, in the immediate aftermath of 9-11, to connect 9-11 with Iraq. That October 2001 article was part of the roll out. (I am not saying Hedges was, I'm saying the article was.) All of the nonsense about "mushroom cloud"s didn't work to scare some of the American public as a stand-alone. The bedrock for the fear was the earlier (repeated and repeated) false claim that Iraq had a terrorist training camp for hijackers. That lie did not start in 2002. It was front-paged on the New York Times in October of 2001. That is reality and if it's too much for your delicate frame, shirk it but don't get upset that others won't join you in a Stupidity Parade.

Hedges has a Los Angeles Times piece. It's not being linked to here. It's a column that mines The Nation article and manages to repeatedly mention Camilo Mejia but cannot once note that he is a war resister. That's really shameful. Honesty, not war, is the force that gives our life meaning, Chris Hedges. Honesty. Furthermore, read Camilo's book, the way Hedges elects to tell the badge story isn't really reality either. It's more shaped to fit the column he's penned. Mejia wrote his own book. You can read about the badge in it, about the cross-examination in front of the squad over it. Hedges really softens that story in his column. (To get more decorations, officers were willing to risk the lives of those serving beneath them by sending them on 'missions' -- usually useless raids repeatedly -- and along with Mejia, Joshua Key also writes about that in his book. And neither pulls punches about what's going on and why. It's a real shame that two non-journalists do a better job of telling the story than a professional reporter.) It's a limp little factoid shaped for a column. Reality is, that if told truthfully, it would enrage many. I'll assume, like on visitor e-mailing, Hedges wants to tell it 'nice.' Which begs the question, why not stay with the New York Times in that case?

Two Thursdays ago, I noted that Cheney avoided Vietnam and offered the opinion that if he had to go, he would have shot himself in the foot in order not to go. That led to "Cpt. Mark" writing me a lengthy e-mail that he said I could share about these "myths" that anyone ever shot themselves to avoid deployment. If "Cpt. Mark" was indeed ever in the military during war time, he led a highly sheltered life. But, for the record, here's a case of that happening in this illegal war. From the AP:

A soldier who recently returned from Iraq has admitted he paid someone $500 to shoot him in the leg so he could avoid returning for another tour. Jonathan Aponte, 20, claimed he had been robbed and shot but changed his story when police questioned him, authorities said. Aponte, who was facing another eight-month tour, had been scheduled to leave last Monday.
"As far as being shot at every day, I think it's better," Aponte told WCBS-TV in an interview that aired Friday. "Mentally I can't do it anymore. I can't handle it anymore."

No doubt Cpt. Mark will be at work shortly on an e-mail to me explaining how the above is also a myth.

A whiner, there's no other word for it, notes Gordo's nonsense from yesterday (co-authored) which "should have been linked to." No, it shouldn't have. Weak minds rush to applaud Gordo stating the obvious and fail to grasp that he's selling the lie that al Qaeda of River City is responsible for all the violence in Iraq. ("We've got trouble . . . right here . . .") Alissa J. Rubin noted the non-link the day before (and was noted here that Thursday) without spinning some grand, White House endorsed, propaganda. Only the weak minds would link to that dumb ass article. We had other things to focus on and didn't need to pat Gordo on the back for only half-lying for a change. We grasped what was going on -- he was making the case for troops to remain in Iraq (remember, he's on record telling Charlie Rose how jazzed he is by the escalation). How so? If Congress does their weak measure and pulls out "combat troops," they will still allow "police" and "terrorist fighting" troops to remain. Gordo's planning for that possibility by pushing that Iraq is nothing but Al Qaeda Land. Susan notes Bill Scheurer's "Iraq Vote: Operation Deception'" (Peace Majority Report, AfterDowningStreet):

The Democratic Congress served up another bowl of political slush this week with its latest vote on Iraq, designed to isolate Republicans in November 2008.
Fortunately, no one seems to be paying much attention this time -- partly
because the Bush press conference on the Iraq interim progress report overshadowed it in the news, but mostly because more people in the peace movement are getting wise to their game.
Like their last upside-down Iraq vote, PeaceMajority Report will not be including this
"Responsible Redeployment from Iraq Act" in our scorecard when updates resume.
Even though there was enough window-dressing in this bill to marshal all but one of the Progressive and Out-of-Iraq Caucus members -- Dennis Kucinich stood alone in resisting this charade -- we cannot play along with their political game.
We cannot endorse a bill that still empowers this President to develop a "comprehensive United States strategy for Iraq" that would assert "United States national security interests in Iraq and the broader Middle East region." This is what he says he has been doing all along!
The so-called "redeployment" would still allow remaining forces to fully pursue "al-Qaeda and its affiliated organizations in Iraq," and to train and equip "members of the Iraqi Security Forces."

Get it yet? Gordo's always planning for the future. (Which is why he's on board for War With Iran and cheerleading that.) So you go cheerlead his dumb ass Friday article for noting that 9-11 and Iraq weren't connected and ignore that he's also arguing that Iraq is 100% al Qaeda Land.

And to the whiner Ava's dubbed Baby Hughey -- Ava was far too kind to you in her reply. She must have been laughing too hard at your e-mail. When she told the rest of us about it, we laughed as well. You're a real Tough Boy calling people 'cowards' except when you get called out. Then it's "ooh, my wittle feelings are hurt." I have no idea why you felt the need to share your homophobia in your screechfest of an e-mail. But, considering everything else you've done publicly, the homophobia comes as no real surprise. Let's all shed a tear for the little Tough Boy: wwwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I'll be sharing the e-mail and explaining further how disgusting Baby Hughey is in my column for Polly's Brew (check your inboxes Sunday morning).

The following community sites have updated since yesterday morning:

Rebecca's Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude;
Cedric's Cedric's Big Mix;
Kat's Kat's Korner;
Betty's Thomas Friedman is a Great Man;
Mike's Mikey Likes It!;
Elaine's Like Maria Said Paz;
Wally's The Daily Jot;
and Trina's Trina's Kitchen

Sam was the first to note Margaret Kimberley this week and Kendrick was the last (twenty minutes ago in an e-mail). From her "British Terror" (Freedom Rider, Black Agenda Report):

Why is anyone angry at Britain? Perhaps it is because the British are some of the people doing the killing. Maybe they are angry because Tony Blair left office proclaiming the rightness of occupying Iraq and killing 600,000 people. Those crazy Arabs and Muslims, they get mad at the strangest things.
It is an understatement to say that Tony Blair left office as Prime Minister of Great Britain under a cloud. He followed George W. Bush like a poodle, or perhaps more like a toad. Former president Jimmy Carter assigned blamed to Blair along with Bush for causing America's increasing unpopularity throughout the world. "It's a shameful and pitiful state of affairs and I hold your British Prime Minister to be substantially responsible for being so compliant and subservient."
"Blair followed George W. Bush like a poodle, or perhaps more like a toad."
Blair is shameless in his belief that killing human beings is acceptable as long as it is done by a government run by white people. Not content to have spent the last six years following Bush like a little shadow, Blair didn't even have the decency to disappear into the sunset and shut up. After giving Britons a collective sigh of relief upon leaving number 10 Downing Street, Blair again began running for new offices.
After rumors of a Carlyle Group corner office and a European union presidency, Blair assumed the role of Middle East peace envoy. He will represent Europe, the United States, Russia and the United Nations while simultaneously keeping the rest of the world from laughing or loosing their lunch at the prospect of a true believer in occupation and empire being an honest broker for peace.

The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.

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Friday, July 13, 2007

Iraq snapshot

Friday, July 13, 2007. Chaos and violence continue, another journalist is annouced dead in Iraq -- the 3rd in the last 48 hours, Matthew Rothschild addresses the theft of Iraqi oil law, and more.

Starting with war resistance. The Progressive's Hidden History Of The United States (available in calander form) notes that on this day in 1863, "Draft riots began in New York City, leaving 1,000 dead over four days." Ehren Watada is the first commissioned officer to public refuse deployment to Iraq. Currently, he is waiting while the appeals process determines whether he will have to face a second court-martial and, if so, whether Judge Toilet (aka John Head) will be allowed to preside over it again. While this goes on, people continue to demonstrate their support for Watada. Last Friday, we noted a rally held in San Francisco in support of Watada. Ryan Baladad (Asian Week) informs, "Members from the various groups, including Aisan Pacific Islanders Resist and the Watada Support Committee, took turns speaking in support of the Japanese lieutenant. Supporters held signs that read, 'Refuse Illegal War,' 'Bush lied, People Died' and showed photos of Watada in uniform. Malcolm Yeung of the Asian Law Caucus called the Army's actions 'frankly reprehensible' and said the case 'chills free speech'." Baladad closes with this statement from Rev. Norman Fong (Chinatown Presbyterian Church), "There shouldn't be another trial; they messed up the first time. We're proud of Lt. Watada."

Meanwhile, who is Steve Yoczik? The War Resisters Support Campaign explains, "Steve arrived in Toronto on November 25th, 2006. He trained in communications at Fort Gordon, Georgia. After a few months there, he began to realize that the decision he'd made to join the Army was a serious mistake and that trading 4 years of his life for the opportunity to have college paid for was not an agreeable enough trade. Also after seeing pictures of wounded or killed Iraqi civilians (and combatants) as well as stories from soldiers that had been to Iraq and Afghanistan, he knew without a doubt that he did not want to be involved in the war. Halfway through training, the 'job' he'd been signed on for was cancelled, and 'joblees' people in this particular war zone go on patrols and kick in doors, so Stephen prepared a last-ditch effort to come to Canada, as all other attempts to leave the Army 'legitimately' were exhausted. Since arriving in Toronto, Steve has adjusted fairly weel, and is being careful in the decisions he makes in life now, as his Army expereience has taught him that signatures hold a lot of power . . ."

Yoczik is part of a growing movement of resistance within the US military which includes Ross Spears, Jared Hood and James Burmeister, Eli Israel, Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Luke Kamunen, Leif Kamunen, Leo Kamunen, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Augstin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder , Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Joshua Key, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Jeremy Hinzman, Stephen Funk, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Chris Capps, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake, Christopher Mogwai, Christian Care, Kyle Huwer, Vincent La Volpa, DeShawn Reed and Kevin Benderman. In total, forty-one US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.

Information on war resistance within the military can be found at Center on Conscience & War, The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters.

Yesterday, Bully Boy went on and on, desperately attempting to stretch the definition of progress in yet another attempt to fool the American people. How bad did the spin and lies get? Kenneth R. Bazinet (New York Daily News) informs, "Even the White House was concerned Bush overstepped with his upbeat war talk, sending spokesman Tony Snow out to talk to the cable news outlets to clarify the President's remarks. 'The President isn't saying we're winning. He says we're in a fight. He says we cannot afford not to win,' Snow told Fox News." Tony Snow need not worry, reality will always Fact Check the Bully Boy upside his face. How are things with the Iraqi Parliament? Joshua Partlow and Sudarsan Raghavan (Washington Post) reports, "Iraqi politicians on Thursday struck a more pessimistic tone about Iraq than did the White House assessment, and said the deadlock between warring Sunni and Shiite factions makes major political progress unlikely in coming months." Well, as least those Iraqi troops are coming along nicely, right? Karen DeYoung (Washington Post) informs, "Despite stepped-up training, the readiness of the Iraqi military to operate independently of U.S. forces has decreased since President Bush's new strategy was launched in January, according to the White House progress report released yesterday." And try to find out the hard figures on this from the Pentagon, as DeYoung did, and be informed that's "classified information." Classified, apparently, on the grounds that Bully Boy is an incompetent.

And on the January 20th attack in Karbala that killed 1 US soldier immediately, wounded three and saw four kidnapped (all of whom would later turn up dead), Gregg Zoroya (USA Today) reveals the army's internal investigation has found:

•Iraqi police suddenly vanished from the government compound before the shooting started.
•Attackers, evidently briefed on how U.S. forces would defend themselves, bottled up more than three dozen soldiers in a barracks and headquarters complex using a combination of smoke and fragment grenades and satchel charges to blow up Humvees.
•Gunmen knew exactly where to find and abduct U.S. officers.
•Iraqi vendors operating a PX and barbershop went home early.
•A back gate was left unlocked and unguarded.
Investigators recommended several changes to toughen defensive positions, including the installation of closed-circuit cameras to provide better early warnings, "duress devices" that can allow overrun outposts to signal headquarters, and requirements that any arriving convoy provide identification.

Now how do you suppose that got left out of Bully Boy's attempt to sell the continuation of the illegal war? In more reality the Bully Boy Never Told You, Robert Burns (AP via Los Angeles Times) reports that yesterday's White House progress report "strongly implies that the administration believes its military strategy will take many more months to meet its goals." And really driving home the lack of progress in Iraq, Mike Drummond and Hussein Khalifa (McClatchy Newspapers) tell the story of Nawal Na'eem Karim whose 18-month-child has learned to cry "Talaq inanan! Talaq inana!" ("Bullets here! Bullets here!"). Needless to say, the mother tells the reporters she just wants the US to leave. Of course, Bully Boy would probably get that dopey grin on his face (as when a woman explained she had to work two jobs) and say, "That's wonderful."

Meanwhile, Congressional Dems try to put one over on the public -- again, and it's the same shell game. From Democracy Now! today:

House Iraq Pullout Bill Leaves Thousands of Troops Behind
The House has approved a measure that would begin withdrawing combat troops from Iraq within the next three months. The final vote was two hundred twenty-three to two-hundred and one, mostly along party lines. Before the vote, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urged lawmakers to vote "yes."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: "Let us pass this bill and those that will follow in the coming weeks and provide the new direction on Iraq that the American people demand and that is so urgently needed. I urge a 'yes' vote on the Skelton bill."

Ohio Congressmember Dennis Kucinich was the lone anti-war Democrat to vote against the bill. The measure would remove most combat troops by April of next year but still leave tens of thousands soldiers behind.

As Amy Goodman noted above "leaves tens of thousands soldiers behind." And that's provided Bully Boy doesn't reclassify the ones that would be set to leave. Pushing the non-existant link between 9-11 and Iraq is a thread he picked up again yesterday. He could follow the Pelosi measure (if it passed) and reclassify "combat troops" as troops who will be fighting terrorists ("al Qaeda!") and none have to leave. He could also declare that the illegal war is over and that 160,000 US troops need to remain to maintain "police operations" which would mean no troops leave. It's the con game they pulled in March, credit Goodman with telling it straight and not sugar coating it.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State and Anger Condi Rice remakes Mariah Carey's "Love Takes Time" with new words resulting in "War Takes Time." (CBS & AP, text and video).

In a crimes and violence update, Alissa J. Rubin (New York Times) updates her bank robbery story from yesterday with the information that the bank is revising the figures for the stolen money to "282 million Iraqi diners, equal to about $225,000 and $366,00 American dollars." In some of today's violence . . .

Bombings?

Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports a mortar attacks in Baquba claimed 2 lives and left fifteen wounded and a Baquba bombing that claimed 1 life. Ned Parker (Los Angeles Times) notes that the Green Zone was "slammed" with mortars today, killing 2 Iraqi soldiers and that "U.S. civilian government employees have been required in the last few dyas to wear body armor and helmets because of the rising threat of rocket and mortar attacks. Reuters notes that 2 children died in Samawa from a roadside bombing, 1 Iraqi soldier died from a Baghdad roadside bombing and 1 police officer died from a Mosul roadside bombing.

Shootings?

Laith Hammoudi (McClatchy Newspapers) reports five police officers were shot dead in Baghdad, 3 Iraqi civilians were shot dead by the US military (in what appears to be -- me speaking not Hammoudi -- indiscriminate firing) and "Gunmen killed an Iraqi journalist working for New York Times newspaper near Al Saidiyah fuel station south of Baghdad around 9:00 am." John Holusha (New York Times) observes that Hassan joined the paper in 2003 (fall) and that he was the second Times' reporter for the paper to die in Iraq and notes: "Mr. Hassan was shot in the Saidiya district of south central Baghdad while driving to work under circumstances that remain unclear, Mr. [John F.] Burns said. He had called the bureau earlier and said his normal route to the office had been block by a security checkpoint." Executive editor Bill Keller states, "Khalid was part of a large, sometimes unsung, community of Iraqi news gatherers, translators and support staff, who take enormous risks every day to help us comprehend their country's struggle and torment. Without them, America's understanding of what is happening on the ground in Iraq would be much, much poorer. To The Times, Khalid was family, and his death is heartbreaking." Khalid Hassan's death brings to three the number of reporters killed in Baghdad in the last 48 hours. Yesterday, we noted the deaths of Namir Noor-Eldeen and Saeed Chmagh, two journalists with Reuters. Today, Alissa J. Rubin (New York Times) reports that in addition to eyewitnesses quoted in the early reports yesterday, Ahmad Sahib, with AFP, arrived on the scene shortly afterwards and he states, "They had arrived, got out of the car and started taking pictures, and people gathered. It looked like the American helicopters were firing against any gathering in the area, because when I got out of my car and started taking pictures, people gathered and an American helicopter fired a few rounds, but they hit the houses nearby and we ran for cover."

Corpses?

Reuters reports 3 corpses discovered today in Sawayra. And Alissa J. Rubin (New York Times) noted that 28 corpses were discovered in Baghdad Thursday.

Turning to the theft of Iraqi oil, Nancy Youssef (McClatchy Newspapers) notes, "Earlier this month, Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki announced unanimous Cabinet approval of a draft hydrocarbon law. But on Wednesday, Kurdish politicians said they opposed the latest version of the law. The draft law hasn't been published." Steve Kretzmann (Oil for Change) observes, "We have heard conflicting reports, although it seems clear that the annexes are gone. There was an arabic version published two days ago in a Baghdad daily, however we've heard that there has been at least one change since then." AVAAZ.ORG has an online petition entitled "Support Iraqi Oil Sovereignty."

At Inside Iraq (McClatchy Newspapers), a journalist shares a surreal experience, "The Electricity Minister and the Oil Minister, both being questioned in the Parliament as to the electricity and fuel situation in the country. They were fighting the 'good' fight, back to back, with their sabers flashing. Fact after distorted face spilled forth from their tongues. The Oil Minister, high browed, blue blooded, married to a bluer blood still -- all leaning east, said he hadn't enough power and fuel to work the refineries -- butter wouldn't melt in his mouth. The Electricity Minister, a man of the masses; an excellent technician, worked his way up through the ranks, said he hadn't enough fuel to work the electricity power stations. Wasn't there something strange here -- was it a distortion in my dream?? A Catch 22 situation if ever there was one!!" Hussain al-Shahristani is the Oil Minister (since May of last year) and prior to that post he was the deputy speaker in the National Assembly. Last week, on KPFT's Progressive Forum (Thursdays, 7:00 pm Central), host Wally James discussed the theft of the Iraqi oil with Matthew Rothschild (The Progressive).

Matthew Rothschild: It's amazing that with all that's been going on Iraq with maybes 600,000 Iraqis killed, 3600 US soldiers killed and 2600 US soldiers wounded, that the one thing the Bush administration really cares about is privatizing Iraq's oil. You know, they told us, over and over again, before this war started those of us that were talking about this war being for oil, that we were conspiracy people, but look, low and behold, the first thing that the army did when it got to Iraq was protect the oil fields, the second thing it did was protect the Oil Ministry and now the last thing it's doing is making sure that before all hell breaks further loose that they're going to get something on the books in Iraq that allows Exxon-Mobile and other US corporations to go in there and get their share of the oil there and expatriate the profits from that oil at a much greater degree than oil companies can do in that part of the world. I mean this is a huge sell out of Iraq's sovereign resource and there are, there have been strikes already by Iraqi oil workers and al-Sadr right now is aligning with the Sunnis to oppose this so there's all sorts of domestic opposition over there but this is the one thing that the Bush administration wanted al-Maliki to rail through if he could, railroad it through, he'd be back in the good graces of the Bush administration, back in the good graces of Exxon-Mobile.

Wally James: Well from the beginning you had Bush saying, you know, this is not about oil, we're not trying to get control of the oil. And, you know, but under the surface you have this going on and at the same time the US media just isn't reporting on it. They talk about how this is going to be a good thing if this goes through, how it's going to make for sure that the oil is divided up evenly in Iraq.

Matthew Rothschild: It is almost impossible, you're absolutely right here, Wally, and I think it's a really good point absolutely impossible to read the mainstream media and figure out what's going on with this Iraq oil behind the scenes. It's not about, or simply not just about, the equal sharing of the oil revenues. It's largely about the privatization of the oil industry in Iraq and allowing US and other foreign oil companies in to grab the oil. That's what's going on but you might get that in about paragraph eleven or paragraph fifteen and it won't explain really the benefits that are going to acrue to Exxon-Mobile and the other giants. And it certainly won't tell you that the Iraq oil workers were striking for a week in Basra over this. I mean, this has been one of the worst bits of coverage by the mainstream media in Iraq since what? The cover up or the funneling of propaganda about Weapons of Mass Destruction Prior to the war courtesy of Judith Miller and the New York Times.

Wally James asked Rothschild about the idea that Congressional Democrats might be refusing to impeach because they want Bully Boy around for the 2008 elections (as an issue to run against) and wondered if that was at least part of the reason Congress does nothing to end the illegal war, "they need him around in '08 to beat up" and the Iraq war? Rothschild responded: "Well this is kind of pragmatic politics at its worst, it seems to me. Because I think the same thing happened with the Iraq war vote. They want the Iraq war to go on so they can go against Bush and the Iraq war in 2008. But look at how callous that is. They want a hundred more US soldiers to die every month and 500, 600 to be wounded and what, you know, a couple of thousand Iraqis to die every month just because it's politically expedient and it might help them win the White House? I mean, come on, talk about immorality if that's what they're doing that's disgraceful on the war issue." Next addressed was the issue of impeachment which Rothschild's supported, publicly in his writing, since at least early 2006 and we'll use that as an opportunity to note that Bill Moyers Journal (begins airing on PBS in most markets today -- check local listings and you can also read, listen or watch online) will explore the topic of impeachment and, among the guests is John Nichols.

Back to Rothschild, he has a new book out entitled You Have No Rights: Stories of America In An Age of Repression (The New Press, list price $16.99) and he's doing stops across the country to promote the book:

Matthew Rothschild reading and signing YOU HAVE NO RIGHTS

Seattle, WA: 7/16 at 7:00PM
San Francisco, CA: 7/17 at 7:30PM
Berkeley, CA: 7/18 at 7:00PM
Portland, OR: 7/19 at 7:30PM
Madison, WI: 7/26 at 7:00PM
San Luis Obispo, CA: 8/14 at 7:00PM
Santa Barbara, CA:8/15 at 7:00PM
Los Angeles, CA: 8/16 at 7:00PM
Baraboo, WI: 9/8 all day

ehren watada

mcclatchy newspapers

the new york times
alissa j. rubin

iraq

matthew rothschild

gregg zoroya
the washington post

joshua partlow

sudarsan raghavan

bill moyers journal

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Iraq snapshot

Friday, July 13, 2007. Chaos and violence continue, another journalist is annouced dead in Iraq -- the 3rd in the last 48 hours, Matthew Rothschild addresses the theft of Iraqi oil law, and more.