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Archives: September 2004

President Al Yawir Decries Collective

President al-Yawir Decries "Collective Punishment" 13 Killed in Continued Battles Iraqi President Ghazi al-Yawir strongly protested US air strikes against Iraqi cities, comparing them to Israeli tactics in Gaza and branding them…

On Virtues Of Changing Mind It Is

On the Virtues of Changing the Mind It is depressing for me to see George W. Bush on the stump doing a stand-up comedy routine about John Kerry, parroting the predictable line…

Demolition Of Old City In Najaf I Got

Demolition of Old City in Najaf? I got two interesting messages about Najaf today. The first was from Dr. Kamil Mahdi, who has lectured in economics at Exeter University in the UK…

Pelosi Derails Cia Plan To Buy Iraq

Pelosi Derails CIA Plan to Buy Iraq Elections Time Magazine reports that the Bush administration had had a plan to use the Central Intelligence Agency to funnel money to candidates it favored…

Sadrists To Boycott Elections Daraji

Sadrists to Boycott Elections: Daraji Shaikh Abdul Hadi al-Daraji, a lieutenant of the young Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr, said Monday that Muqtada would not contest elections while Iraq was suffering American occupation.…

Violence Kills 23 Us Soldiers Wounded

Violence Kills 23 US Soldiers Wounded at Karama Al-Arabiyah is reporting that guerrillas detonated a car bomb near a national guard facility in Mosul, killing or wounding several persons on Monday morning.…

Bush Falsehoods About Iraq Adam Entous

Bush Falsehoods about Iraq Adam Entous of Reuters is too polite to put it this way, but the conclusion is easily extracted from his article that Bush played fast and loose with…

5 Us Troops At Least 9 Iraqis Dead

5 US Troops, at least 9 Iraqis Dead Violence up 36 Percent in Iraq The incidents of violence on Friday and Saturday in Iraq that appeared in the newspapers were a very…

Two Faces Of Bush This Graphic Is Part

Two Faces of Bush This graphic is part of a new Democratic Party initiative to focus on the "two-facedness" of George W. Bush, which is apparently conceived broadly. The thing the graphic…

Us Assault On Ramadi Rockets In

US Assault on Ramadi Rockets in Baghdad Kill 4 Sadrists, AMS threaten Fresh Uprisings President George W. Bush cited a poll done in June and July to argue that Iraqis are more…

Of Iron Fists And Oil Sabotage Marine

Of Iron Fists and Oil Sabotage Marine Killed in Anbar Guerrillas in Anbar Province killed a Marine on Thursday. US forces clashed with guerrillas in Samarra, signalling a breakdown of the truce…

Violence Allawi Sistani And Elections

Violence, Allawi, Sistani and Elections Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani continues to be concerned as to whether elections will be held in January in Iraq, and whether the outcome will reflect the Shiite…

Iraq Violence Kills At Least 24 Wounds

Iraq Violence Kills at Least 24, Wounds over 100 Sistani Criticizes Election Plans The guerrilla war and American military assertiveness together wrought havoc in several areas of Iraq once again on Wednesday.…

Cat Stevens Deported I Know That It Is

Cat Stevens Deported I know that it is faintly ridiculous that Cat Stevens a.k.a. Yusuf Islam was deported on Wednesday from the US after the airplane he was on was diverted to…

If America Were Iraq What Would It Be

If America were Iraq, What would it be Like? President Bush said Tuesday that the Iraqis are refuting the pessimists and implied that things are improving in that country. What would America…

Western Press On Religious Violence In

The Western Press on Religious Violence in Iraq Howard LaFranchi of the Christian Science Monitor gives further, searching consideration to the mysterious murder of clerics on Sunday and Monday and sees dangers…

Bush Taunts Kerry I Just Heard

Bush Taunts Kerry I just heard President Bush taunt John Kerry for suggesting that the US was not safer because Saddam Hussein was deposed, and for saying that the US was in…

Case Of Three Dead Clerics Al Zaman

The Case of the Three Dead Clerics Al-Zaman and Al-Jazeerah.net say that two important figures in the Sunni fundamentalist Association of Muslim Scholars [Board of Muslim Clerics] were assassinated on Sunday and…

Bin Laden Doesnt Care Who Wins Remark

Bin Laden Doesn't Care Who Wins The remark of Speaker of the House Denis Hastert that al-Qaeda would like to manipulate the US election with a terrorist bombing and would be happier…

Mccain Vs

McCain vs. Iraqi Public The rather bloodthirsty demand launched by Arizona Senator John McCain that the US military conquer Fallujah and other Sunni Arab cities of al-Anbar Province will not in fact…

Letter To Marine Reserve Officer This

Letter to a Marine Reserve Officer This is a piece of private correspondence with a thoughtful reserve officer who kindly took the time to remonstrate with me about comments he took to…

Sharon Repudiates Road Map Israeli

Sharon Repudiates the Road Map Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in remarks on Wednesday repudiated the American-sponsored "road map" to a peace process between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Sharon insists on…

Aladdins Genie Run Over By Humvee Us

Aladdin's Genie Run over by Humvee The US military announced that a marine had been killed in Anbar province on Tuesday. Wire services report that on Wednesday in Iraq *In Ramadi, running…

Sistani Insists On Elections Al Zaman

Sistani Insists on Elections Al-Zaman: Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani called on Wednesday for general elections to be held at the scheduled time (January 2005). He made the statement during a meeting of…

Kurdish Settlement In Kirkuk And

Kurdish Settlement in Kirkuk and Geopolitics Jim Krane of AP has an excellent piece today on the demographic struggle taking place in Kirkuk, Iraqi's northern oil city of some 750,000. In April…

Carbomb Kills 47 Wounds 114 In Karkh

Carbomb Kills 47, Wounds 114 in Karkh Luke Harding writes for The Guardian in Baghdad that a huge car bomb killed 47 and wounded 114 at the al-Karkh Police station. Targeted were…

Ethnic Conflict In Tal Afar

Ethnic Conflict in Tal Afar? A correspondent in Europe sent me the following from the Turkish press. This very abridged story from a Turkish newspaper could be of interest. The Talafar case…

Open Letter To Madonna From Angela

Open Letter to Madonna from Angela Godfrey-Goldstein I got this by email from The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions and thought I would share it here. It might sound frivolous but it…

Us Air Strikes Kill 20 In Fallujah Us

US Air Strikes Kill 20 in Fallujah US air strikes on Fallujah on Monday killed some 20 persons. The US military maintained that it was targeting safe houses of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi…

Has Us Been Fighting Turkmen Turkish

Has the US been Fighting Turkmen? Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul revealed that he threatened the US over its treatment of Turkmen in Iraq when he talked to Secretary of State Colin…

Bloody Sunday 110 Dead In Iraq 200

Bloody Sunday: 110 Dead in Iraq, 200 Wounded The Iraqi Guerrilla War erupted into a spectacular set of conflagrations on Sunday and over the weekend, according to Reuters' Ibon Villalabeitia, leaving at…

Us Casualties In Iraq Gustafson Erik

US Casualties in Iraq: Gustafson Erik Gustafson writes: "Setting the record straight, sort of... Last week Clive Astle wrote, "Molly (Ivins) appears to have omitted counting the number killed but unidentified pending…

Fate Of Iraqs Christians Eden Naby

The Fate of Iraq's Christians: Eden Naby Guest Editorial for Informed Comment by Eden Naby Just after celebration of the Festival of the Cross (Aida d-Sliwa) on Friday, 10 September, the village…

Violence In Baqubah Basra Tal Afar Etc

Violence in Baqubah, Basra, Tal Afar, etc. The Washington Post finally gives us a description of the guerrillas fighting in the Shiite Turkmen city of Tal Afar (pop. 250,000). They are said…

Iraq Vietnam And Philippines Guest

Iraq, Vietnam and the Philippines: Guest Editorial Harold Cole of the UCLA Economics Department (no relation) has kindly permitted me to share a message of his here as a guest editorial. Eerie…

September 11 And Its Aftermath In

September 11 and Its Aftermath In order to evaluate the aftermath of September 11, we first must understand that event. What did al-Qaeda intend to achieve? Only if we understand that can…

Us Operations Kill 57 At Tal Afar

US Operations Kill 57 at Tal Afar, FallujahThe US military conducted major operations against Tal Afar and Fallujah on Thursday, in the course of which 57 persons were killed and dozens wounded.National…

Vp Jaafari Slams Us Iraqi Vice

VP Jaafari slams US Iraqi vice-president Ibrahim Jaafari, a leader of the Shiite al-Da`wa Party, vehemently criticized the US in an interview in El Pais (Spain). He said the US had ridden…

Cheney Implies Perpetual War Dick

Cheney Implies Perpetual War Dick Cheney's statement that if Americans elected John Kerry they would suffer another terrorist attack like 9/11 has provoked outrage among Democrats. But what is interesting to me…

Iraq Developments Roadside Bomb In

Iraq Developments A roadside bomb in Baghdad killed one US soldier and wounded two others. Another roadside bomb, near Balad north of the capital, killed one soldier and wounded another. The US…

Aipac Blitz On Capitol Hill Way In

AIPAC Blitz on Capitol Hill The way in which the FBI investigation of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and Israeli links to the pro-Likud clique in the Pentagon may be derailed…

Dual Loyalties Many Readers Have

Dual Loyalties Many readers have written me to express concern about my safety and/or reputation since I have spoken out frankly on the horrible Likud policies of stealing Palestinian lands and brutalizing…

Italian Hostages Anne Aldridge Writes

Italian Hostages Anne Aldridge writes from Italy: Here for your readers is the site of the Italian pacifist organization whose two volunteers, Simona and Simona, were kidnaped yesterday. It has some English…

Heavy Fighting In Sadr City Fallujah

Heavy Fighting in Sadr City, Fallujah US Military Deaths Pass 1000 Jeff Gray of The Toronto Globe and Mail reports The U.S. military death toll in Iraq passed 1,000 yesterday, a statistic…

Cheney Halliburton And Iraq Purloined

Cheney, Halliburton and Iraq: The Purloined Letter Why was Dick Cheney so eager to invade Iraq? Why did he repeatedly link Saddam Hussein to al-Qaeda after September 11, and why did he…

Sistani Holds Political Meetings In

Sistani Holds Political Meetings in Najaf Guerrilla War Continues in Mosul, Baghdad, Kirkuk Hundreds of residents of Najaf mounted a demonstration on Monday, for the second straight day, against Muqtada al-Sadr and…

Aipac Spy Case Involves Intelligence

AIPAC Spy Case involves Intelligence on Iranian WMD James Gordon Meek reports that both FBI investigations of leaks from the Pentagon concern in part secret US intelligence on Iranian weapons of mass…

Bombing Near Fallujah Clashes In Najaf

Bombing Near Fallujah, Clashes in Najaf The Iraqi Guerrilla War of 2003-2004 continued apace on Sunday and Monday. Guerrillas detonated an enormous car bomb near Fallujah on Monday, killing 7 Marines and…

Fighting In Tal Afar Latifiyah 1100 Us

Fighting in Tal Afar, Latifiyah1100 US Troops Wounded in AugustHeavy fighting raged in the northern city of Tal Afar, which lies west of Mosul, again on Sunday, according to ash-Sharq al-Awsat. The…

National Council Elects 4 Vice

National Council Elects 4 Vice-Chairmen AP reports, ' In Baghdad, mortar rounds landed near a convention center where members of Iraq's 100-member transitional assembly, known as the Iraqi Council, gathered for a…

Iraqi Government Extends Ban On Al

Iraqi Government Extends Ban on al-Jazeerah The caretaker Allawi government extended its ban on al-Jazeerah on Saturday. Al-Jazeerah itself reported that the government charged it with instigating attacks on its officials. Al-Jazeerah…

Najaf Aftermath As Viewed By Iraqis

Najaf: The Aftermath as Viewed by Iraqis Abbas Kadhim evaluates "Sistan's triumph" at al-Ahram Weekly. He writes: The real winner at the end of the crisis was Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani. His return…

Aipac Spy Case Update Knight Ridders

AIPAC Spy Case Update Knight Ridder's Warren Strobel, who reported a week ago that the FBI investigation of Lawrence Franklin was part of a much larger probe of the pro-Likud Neocon clique…

Iraq War Continues Into Month 17

Iraq War Continues into Month 17 Dozens Killed, nearly 100 wounded in Multiple Clashes, Bombings The events in Iraq on Friday and Saturday, stretching from Mosul in the north to Basra in…

Two Us Soldiers Wounded Demonstration

Two US Soldiers Wounded Demonstration at Fallujah Two US troops were injured near Tikrit on Friday. There was a demonstration in Fallujah about the ongoing US bombing of the city. Al-Jazeerah showed…

Sullivan On Cole Andrew Sullivan

Sullivan on Cole Andrew Sullivan quoted some of my weblog on why things went wrong in Iraq, admitting I had some good points even if I was being too negative for his…

Ceo Test For Bush Bush Gave Long

The CEO Test for Bush Bush gave a long speech Thursday night, which sounded like a laundry list of promises more than anything else. He pointed to few genuine accomplishments during the…

Qaradawi Calls For Attacks On

Qaradawi Calls for Attacks on Americans in Iraq Shaikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, an old time Muslim Brotherhood cleric resident in Qatar, has called for Muslims to "fight" Americans in Iraq, whether troops or…

7 Dead In Latifiyah Iraqi National

7 Dead in Latifiyah Iraqi National Guards headed south to Latifiyah to combat militants there in the wake of the attempted assassination near there of Ahmad Chalabi. They killed 7 and suffered…

Ivins Us Losses Up From Last Year

Ivins: US Losses up from Last Year Molly Ivins's column today is all the refutation necessary to Dick Cheney's strangely diffident speech Wednesday night. She writes: ' RECORD. We have already lost…

Chatham House Iraq From Bad To Worse

Chatham House: Iraq from Bad to Worse Chatham House, formerly the Royal Institute for International Affairs, has issued a highly pessimistic report (in pdf format) on Iraq. At best, it argues, the…

Chalabi Survives Assassination Attempt

Chalabi Survives Assassination Attempt Sadr Aide Assassinated Ahmad Chalabi's convoy came under fire as he was returning to Baghdad from Najaf. Two of his bodyguards were injured, but he escaped harm. He…

Spy Scandals Roots Are Deep Jim Lobe

Spy Scandal's Roots are Deep Jim Lobe argues that the FBI investigation that caught up Pentagon Iran expert Lawrence Franklin is much wider than initially thought, and focuses on the unauthorized transfer…

Charles Smith On Bush And Sharon Guest

Charles Smith on Bush and Sharon Guest Editorial By Charles Smith: "Bait and Switch: Ariel Sharon, the Bush Administration, and the West Bank" Much attention has focused recently on Ariel Sharon’s travails…

Us Warplanes Hit Samarra Kirkuk

US Warplanes Hit Samarra Kirkuk Official Assassinated Al-Sharq al-Awsat reports that US war planes bombed two civilian vehicles in Samarra on Tuesday, killing two women and a child in the process. The…

Harold Rhode And Bernard Lewis Classic

Harold Rhode and Bernard Lewis The classic expose of Pentagon operator Harold Rhode was written by Bob Dreyfuss and Jason Vest last January, and aptly entitled "The Lie Factory." It has long…