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US SAID TO BE LOOKING AT THREE AUTONOMOUS REGIONS UNDER ONE CENTRAL GOV'T AS PATH TO PULLOUT 3 August 2007 The Iraq conflict has become exactly what it's proponents said it would never become, a bloody sectarian quagmire, threatening to rip the country apart along ethnic and confessional lines. Many warned that Iraq would be another Yugoslavia if its socialist dictatorship were toppled, splitting along ethnic and religious lines and descending into uncontrollable internecine violence. Could separating the three main communities, giving each a regional government, be the path to peace? [Full Story] US, IRANIAN OFFICIALS MEET IN BAGHDAD TO DISCUSS SECURITY, STRATEGIC CONCERNS Diplomats from the US and Iran have met in direct talks for the first time in more than a quarter century. There was little anticipated to be gained from the meeting, except perhaps a premise for future security negotiations and a possible increase in mutual confidence in the goal of securing Iraq. The meeting was described by participants as "businesslike", Iran proposed a three-way forum to negotiate security solutions. [Full Story] BUSH ANNOUNCES PLANS TO SEND 21,500 MORE SOLDIERS TO IRAQ After much speculation and many leaks, US pres. George W. Bush has announced he will send more than 20,000 additional soldiers into Iraq warzone, will require Iraqi government to take action against sectarian movements fomenting violence across Iraq. Bush also said that "Where mistakes have been made, the responsibility rests with me". [Full Story] SENATE REPORT SAYS HUSSEIN NEVER HAD AL-QAEDA TIES As the 5th anniversary of the attacks of 11 September 2001 approach, the US Senate's Intelligence Committee has issued a report officially finding that Saddam Hussein never collaborated with al-Qaeda in any sense. In fact, he was hunting Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who would later name his organization "Al-Qaeda of Mesopotamia" or as per Pentagon briefings "Al-Qaeda in Iraq". Hussein was suspicious of the Islamist radicalism of al-Qaeda and did not view them as friendly to his regime and its interests. [Full Story] DESPITE THOUSANDS OF CIVILIAN DEATHS, FEW MURDER CASES HAVE BEEN BROUGHT IN IRAQ WAR While prisoner abuse has been a widely reported charge, with shocking images and public outrage to keep attention on the subject, there has been relatively little similar public outrage expressed over situations where civilians have died in questionable circumstances. The Washington Post reports there has been a tendency not to investigate many such deaths, with top officials saying "in private" that there's "a tendency to consider Iraqi civilian deaths an unintended consequence of combat operations". [Full Story] MOST WANTED INSURGENT LEADER KILLED IN AIR-STRIKE Reports from Baghdad suggest Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed by a US airstrike on 7 June 2006. The official announcement was made by Iraq's prime minister Nouri al-Maliki, and was later confirmed by US Gen. Casey. The White House issued a statement of cautious relief, saying the removal of Zarqawi could be a moment of hope for Iraq, but will not end the ongoing sectarian and insurgent violence. [Full Story] US CLASHES WITH RULING SHI'A IN TROUBLED IRAQ Reports from Baghdad suggest the bodies of some 69 Iraqis were found yesterday, at several sites where sectarian clashes occurred. In one incident, it appears at least 30 people were massacred. Aides to radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr cited as saying 18 killed in US-led raid; Iraqi police allege 22 civilians killed in raid on mosque. [Full Story] HUSSEIN TRIAL UPROAR AS DEFENSE TEAM WALKS OUT The trial of deposed Iraq Ba'athist dictator, Saddam Hussein, is again temporarily suspended. The defense team walked out after judges refused to hear defense arguments. The government claims to have thwarted a plot to rocket the courthouse. Two defense lawyers have been assassinated, one has fled the country, and one judge has stepped down due to conflict of interest. [Full Story] AT LAST THERE IS DEBATE, THE STAKES HIGH & NO ONE PLEASED Last week, Rep. Murtha (D-PA), a decorated Vietnam war veteran, ranking Democrat on the House defense appropriations subcommittee, and a long-time hawk on military issues, called for an immediate withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. The announcement was seen as a radical policy shift, despite the fact that Murtha had been critical of the current war policy more than a year ago, and shocked the nation's capital into heated debate. [Full Story] SPANISH JUDGE ISSUES ARREST WARRANT FOR 3 US TROOPS20 October 2005 Spanish Judge Santiago Pedraz has issued an international arrest warrant for 3 US soldiers who were operating a tank when it fired on the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad, in April 2003. The hotel was known to be the lodging headquarters for international journalists in Baghdad, and was not considered a military target. [Full Story] SADDAM DECRIES TRIAL PROCESS, QUESTIONS AUTHORITY OF JUDGE, REFUSES TO ID HIMSELF At the opening of his trial, Saddam Hussein, charged with ordering the killing of 143 Shi'a —presumably opponents to his rule— in 1982, was defiant. He decried the judicial process set up to judge him as illegitimate, questioned the authority of the judge overseeing the proceedings, and refused to acknowledge his identity. [Full Story] IRAQ CRISIS SEES NEW SETBACK 49 Iraqi recruits for the new national defense force have been found dead on a highway in Mandali, about 155 kilometers from Baghdad. The victims were ambushed while being bused to their homes after training; they were reportedly unarmed, dressed in civilian clothes and riding in non-military vans. A spokesman for Iraq's Interior Minister said the authorities believe the men were forced out of the vehicles, made to kneel or lie down on the road, then summarily shot in the back of the head. Tanzim al-Qaeda, the insurgent group headed by Al Zarqawi, has reportedly taken responsibility for the killings, and said the victims were killed because they had been trained to fight like the Coalition. IRAQ WATCH: CONGRESS WORKING TO GET THE NEWS TO THE PEOPLE Iraq Watch is a project put together by members of Congress who are concerned that the true story of the Iraq War has not been consistently and dispassionately told by the nation's leaders. Led by Rep. Delahunt of Massachusetts, this group has sought to bring major news stories, and intelligence from independent sources to the floor of the House, in order to tell the story of how contractors are alleged to have gouged the American taxpayer and how civilian leaders have misused military force in response to a battle plan apparently conceived on false assumptions. [Full Story] GENERAL KARPINSKI ALLEGES TORTURE ORDERED FROM TOP Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski has told the press that she is being made a "convenient scapegoat" by compromised authorities. She alleged specifically that she was told, while in command at Abu Ghraib, that all prisoners should be treated like dogs. She says that Maj Gen Geoffrey Miller, now in charge of Iraqi prisons, then in charge of the detention center at Guantánamo Bay, told her that any hint that detainees were anything more than dogs would lead to breakdown of her authority. [Full Story] REUTERS REPORTS 3 JOURNALISTS AMONG ABUSED IRAQIS The Reuters News Agency is reporting that 3 Iraqi journalists working for the agency were beaten and sexually abused when they were detained in January, while covering the story of a downed helicopter. The abuses occurred not at Abu Ghraib prison, but at the Volturno Forward Operating Base, near Fallujah. Reuters latest publication of the story is due to the fact that the Pentagon has not responded to requests for a review of an initial military report that found no torture had occurred (issued long before the Abu Ghraib photos had become public). [Full Story] MOUNT LEBANON HOTEL DESTROYED BY BOMB Today in central Baghdad, a major bomb blast struck the Mount Lebanon Hotel, destroying much of the facade, and ripping apart rooms and nearby buildings. At least 27 have been reported killed so far. US military sources report that some 1,000 lbs. of explosive were used in this bomb. [Full Story] WORDS, WORDS, WORDS In a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Sen. Levin cited Rumsfeld as saying on 11 March 2003, one week before the war: "we know he continues to hide biological and chemical weapons, moving them to different locations as often as every 12 to 24 hours, and placing them in residential neighborhoods." The issue is how statements of such certainty had been made when new revelations indicate there was no reliable intelligence on which to base irrefutable affirmations of WMD in Iraq. [Full Story] ADMIRAL TURNER SUSPECTS POLITICAL PRESSURE Admiral Stansfield Turner, former CIA director, says that the Kay report must be taken together with an independent study conducted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Kay himself has testified that he suspects no political pressure was applied to alter intelligence estimates, but Admiral Turner has told CNN that according to the CEIP study, it is clear that intelligence estimates about the Iraqi WMD threat changed significantly during October 2002, hardening from caveated suspicion without proof to almost total certainty. The Kay report indicates that there was no evidence that would substantiate the claim that Iraq had WMD, but places the blame on "the intelligence community". Turner told CNN that with no new evidence to alter previous estimates, the only logical explanation would be that political pressure was applied (or felt) and led to an increase in the urgency of threat assessments. NO WMD, JUSTIFICATIONS FOR WAR IN QUESTION David Kay, chief weapons inspector for the Iraq Survey Group, who recently left his post, reports there was no evidence to indicate the presence of any weapons of mass destruction, any stockpiles, or any competent programs to develop such weapons. Kay said evidence was found that indicated there had been programs in the past, but that it appeared that all the weapons had been destroyed, and that the programs were in disarray, and no production facilities existed. [Full Story] ATTACKS CONTINUE, MORE LIVES LOST IN IRAQ The ongoing wave of car bombings and suicide attacks in occupied Iraq has brought the number of Americans lost to 500, according to reports of Pentagon figures. Cable news correspondents have said the city of Baghdad is "gridlocked" with traffic, making it difficult to stop these ambushes. Though Occupation forces are the primary target for the attacks, it has also been reported that Iraqi bombers are killing more Iraqi civilians than they are Coalition troops. The Anglo-American non-profit research organization Iraq Body Count has compiled a database of civilian casualties reported by reputable media outlets. IBC compares and cites sources to minimize overlap and offers a low to high estimate. Its database estimates between 7,968 and 9,801 civilians have died as a result of the intervention, to date. CONTRACT FOR HALLIBURTON, DESPITE POSSIBLE CRIMINAL PROBE Despite allegations of overpricing, or price gouging, in the import and distribution of fuel for Coalition projects, Halliburton has been awarded a contract to rebuild Iraq's oil industry. During the last week, there had been increased speculation about whether the Bush administration would allow broader competition in bidding for reconstruction contracts, even talk of allowing European allies who opposed the war to participate. The new Halliburton contract may deliver another $1.2 billion to the controversial firm. Rep. Henry Waxman has said he was notified by the inspector general's office that a criminal probe had been launched. The Pentagon says that no decision has yet been made about criminal charges, and that the company would be considered "innocent until proven guilty". [For more: FT] US NOW CONSIDERING UN ROLE TO EASE POLITICAL TENSION IN IRAQ In the face of ongoing mass demonstrations in southern Iraq, spurred by demands for direct elections by Iraq's Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani, the Bush administration is reportedly contemplating a role for the UN as broker or moderator, in order to formulate a compromise system which would allow a speedy transition to Iraqi rule without fomenting sectarian rivalry. Perceived as a reversal of diplomatic policy, overtures to the UN coincide with talk about European nations offering assistance, possibly being granted access to reconstruction contracts. [For more: NYT] TENS OF THOUSANDS DEMONSTRATE IN BASRA FOR OPEN ELECTIONS The powerful shi'a cleric, the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, has been pushing for popular elections as soon as this spring, through which the Iraqi people would choose their own parliament. Tens of thousands demonstrated in the streets of Basra today, in support of al-Sistani's demands for direct elections. The Occupation authorities, through the Governing Coucil, have planned to implement a system of selective regional caucuses, designed to represent regional interests and formulate a multi-ethnic parliament. The shi'a majority, however, long oppressed in brutal fashion under the Hussein regime, are increasingly anxious for self-rule. Some observers fear two possible outcomes of a pre-constitutional direct election: 1) that the shi'a majority will impose a campaign of persecution on the Sunni community perceived to have been allied to Hussein; 2) that shi'a clerics will find themselves in a position to establish a fundamentalist theocracy. POWELL DISAVOWS TERROR CONNECTION Secretary of State, Colin Powell, has admitted that there was in fact no credible evidence of a connection between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda. Also in recent days, former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, who served on Bush's National Security Council, said during his time with the administration, he saw no evidence of ongoing WMD development in Iraq. O'Neill has also suggested that the Bush White House began planning the invasion during its first days in office.
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