- Suicide bombers unleashed another day of hell across
Iraq today, killing at least 18 and wounding over 67.
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- Four of them struck Iraqi Security forces, along with
US military convoys around Baghdad. Despite the huge US-backed Iraqi security
operation throughout the capital city, attacks there continue unabated.
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- The small city of Rawa near Al-Qa'im was bombed again
by the US military Sunday night. The military admitted to the bombing,
but claimed that there were no civilian casualties. Today on Al-Jazeera
the satellite channel flashed footage of flattened civilian homes, as well
as people in the city claiming that seven civilians were killed in the
bombings.
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- In Hawija (near Kirkuk), three suicide car bombers struck
Iraqi security checkpoints today, killing several Iraqis. Meanwhile in
Tal-Afar (near Mosul), fierce clashes erupted between the Iraqi resistance
and American soldiers. These are ongoing as I type this.
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- It continues to be clear that the plans of the Bush Administration
in Iraq either do not include the protection of Iraqis, they don't care,
or both.
-
- I received an email from someone today along these lines
which I found interesting:
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- "I operated out of Camp Anaconda, near Balad. What
almost everyone, both in uniform and those as contractors, agreed on (was)
the objective of the Bush Administration's long term (plan) is focused
primarily on oil. Hearts and minds are secondary, far behind the issue
of petroleum products, as the US continues to compete for resources around
the world. I hope more media conversation is forthcoming on this issue."
-
- Also along these lines, an Iraqi friend of mine who is
a doctor in Baghdad told me that when he was in Ramadi yesterday, US soldiers
attacked the Anbar Medical School while students were taking their exams.
As he said, "They (US soldiers) smashed the front gates of the school
in a barbaric way using Humveesand terrorized the female students while
arresting two students while they were working on their exams. They then
lay siege to the homes of the dean of the university, along with homes
of lecturers, even though their families were inside."
-
- My friend also reported that after he recently visited
Haditha (remember "Operation Open Market") he found that a large
number of civilians had been detained.
-
- "They even detained a friend of mine and his father
because they found papers in their home about an upcoming demonstration,"
he told me.
-
- Recently, the US-backed Iraqi "government"
announced it had detained nearly 900 "suspected militants." A
"suspected militant" in Iraq looks more and more like anyone
in the wrong place at the wrong time when Iraqi or US forces conduct an
operation.
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- Of course the looting of homes during raids continues
along with the detentions of innocent Iraqis. So much so that as a result
of the huge "security" operation in Baghdad, Laith Kuba, a spokesman
for Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari found it necessary to make
the following statement:
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- "Some people complained there are cases where soldiers
took advantage and helped themselves to cash and other items. One doesn't
rule it out. The complaints I heard from people were the aggressiveness
of some of these forces as they do things. Some people have half-hinted
that they have copied some of the mannerisms of other foreign troops. I
think that is a valid criticism in some cases."
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- _____
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http://dahrjamailiraq.com
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