Thread: Iraq News

Arrrr.. all warm and fuzzy. So Nice of the US to drop in and set things straight in Iraq.
I guess that's just what the US does in far away places. Freedom , democracy and the American way.There you go guys. Now we are off home after we have helped you along the way. If only fairy tales were true.

The thing is that the UN mandate for the US to continue the occupation of Iraq ends this year, so there are 2 options on the table for USA. 1. find some excuse to ignore the UN mandate and continue occupying the country illegally. 2, pull up stumps and get the fuck out of Iraq as the democratic government of Iraq wants them to do.

Alternatively, the US could start a war with Iran and justify the occupation of Iraq as in the American interest. That seems to be on the cards, but wouldn't be real smart IMHO. So, they will probably do it anyway.

Originally Posted by Panda

Arrrr.. all warm and fuzzy. So Nice of the US to drop in and set things straight in Iraq.
I guess that's just what the US does in far away places. Freedom , democracy and the American way.There you go guys. Now we are off home after we have helped you along the way. If only fairy tales were true.

The thing is that the UN mandate for the US to continue the occupation of Iraq ends this year, so there are 2 options on the table for USA. 1. find some excuse to ignore the UN mandate and continue occupying the country illegally. 2, pull up stumps and get the fuck out of Iraq as the democratic government of Iraq wants them to do.

Alternatively, the US could start a war with Iran and justify the occupation of Iraq as in the American interest. That seems to be on the cards, but wouldn't be real smart IMHO. So, they will probably do it anyway.

Come on man........ how dare you say something like that about the U.S of A. They are the upholders of democracy in the world.

Reasons for attacking Iraq was on the suspicion of Iraq having WMDs and being able to attack but where are the WMDs?? Now they twist the story by saying that it was America's moral responsibility to liberate the Iraqi people from Saddam's rule...... now Saddam's gone so why don't they just fuck off??

If "Liberation from Oppression" is the American slogan why not attack North Korea? Kim Jong Il is well known for getting his jollies by killing people. why not do that??? IMO it is a far more noble thing to do.

By Andrew Johnson
The Independent
13 July 2008

British soldiers forced a boy of 14 to carry out an act of oral sex on a fellow male prisoner in Iraq, according to shocking new allegations made about the behaviour of British troops.

The Ministry of Defence confirmed yesterday that the Royal Military Police (RMP) have launched an investigation. If the allegations are proved, it would mark a sordid low in the behaviour of British troops in Iraq, and damage further the reputation of Britain in the Middle East.

The victim, now 19, whom The Independent on Sunday has agreed to identify only as Hassan, says he was rounded up with a friend while trying to steal milk cartons from a food distribution centre. He was whipped, beaten and forced to strip naked.

"They made us sit on each other's laps," he said. "They were enjoying humiliating and abusing us, I wished I was dead at this moment. Then they made me sit with Tariq... where I was forced to put Tariq's penis in my mouth. The other two were made to do the same."

Court action is ongoing over a series of allegations surrounding the British base Camp Breadbasket and incidents that took place there in May 2003. There have been allegations of simulated sexual abuse of Iraqis by British troops, but this, if true, would be the first example of actual sexual abuse.

Soldiers rounding up looters as part of an operation codenamed Ali Baba took photographs of prisoners suspended in nets from forklift trucks and others forced to strip naked and adopt simulated sex positions.

The photographs caused outrage around the world when they were published, after a British soldier took them to be developed at a high-street shop. An RMP investigation led to just four soldiers being jailed for up to two years in 2005. A number of the alleged victims, including Hassan, are suing the MoD for damages.

The MoD last Thursday reiterated its official line that abuse was isolated to just a few rogue soldiers, after agreeing to pay nearly £3m compensation to the father of Baha Mousa, 26, a hotel receptionist beaten to death by British soldiers while in custody in a separate incident in September 2003, and nine other Iraqis beaten at the same time.

Mazin Younis, of the Iraqi League, who has travelled in Basra collecting witness statements of allegations of abuse, says he now has "more than 80" cases involving allegations against British troops.

"Every single time I uncover a personal story of torture and humiliation in Iraq, I think to myself that I have seen the worst there is," Mr Younis added. "Then I hear the next story.

"Hassan shook with emotion and humiliation as he described to me the treatment he suffered at the hands of British soldiers five years ago. It had taken constant prompting and repeated reminders about the importance of detail before Hassan felt brave enough to describe how he was forced to engage in oral sex with his friend Tariq while their British captors laughed raucously and took photographs."

Such is the culture in Iraq that Hassan fears for his life if identified. It has taken him four years to find the courage to talk about the incident, Mr Younis said. He fled Basra after the incident, giving up his education and staying indoors for fear that someone may recognise him.

Mr Younis added: "There is, of course, no case as bad as a killing or murder. But the fact that this is sexual ... It can lead to suicide because it is so humiliating. Hassan fled Basra because he couldn't face his friends, the people who had seen this.

"He left education and is now unemployed. He has been very, very traumatised. It is the kind of thing that is very difficult to admit to or talk about. No one expected the British to be worse than Saddam Hussein."

Mr Younis said the more than 80 allegations of abuse will form the basis of a series of actions at the European Court of Human Rights, as many of them took place outside British bases and are therefore outside British jurisdiction.

Phil Shiner, of Public Interest Lawyers, has represented many of the Iraqis who allege abuse at the hands of British troops, including Baha Mousa's family and Hassan. "It should be a national scandal that representatives of the British state could have engaged in such appalling behaviour," he said. "I call on the British government to immediately set up an inquiry into this incident."

The Labour MP Harry Cohen also joined calls for an investigation. "We need to have a full inquiry into how we keep prisoners. It obviously needs a complete overhaul," he said.

An MoD spokesman said yesterday: "We can confirm that a new allegation has been received in relation to the alleged abuse of a 14-year-old boy by British soldiers at Camp Breadbasket in May 2003.

"The allegation has been referred to the Royal Military Police, and efforts are in the process of being made to contact the alleged victim as soon as possible.

"All but a handful of the more than 120,000 British troops who have served in Iraq have conducted themselves to the highest standards of behaviour, displaying integrity and selfless commitment. All allegations of abuse are investigated thoroughly and – where proven – those responsible are punished and the abused are compensated.

"The Army has done a great deal since the cases of abuse related to the death of Baha Mousa in 2003. Procedures and training have been improved. But we are not complacent and continue to demand the very highest standards of conduct from all our troops."

A case to answer

Baha Mousa
Beaten to death in September 2003. Nine others also mistreated. MoD agreed to £2.83m compensation payout last week and will hold a full inquiry into the abuse.

Camp Breadbasket
Prisoners beaten, forced to strip and simulate sex in May 2003. Subject of damages claim by 11 of the victims.

Abu Naji
Twenty Iraqi civilians allegedly executed at British base in Abu Naji in May 2004. Five survivors bringing a claim for damages.

Jabbir Hmoud Kammash
70-year-old tribal leader is bringing action over claims he was hooded and beaten during a raid at his home in Basra in April last year.

Ahmer Jabbar Kareem and Ayad Salim Hanoon
Teenagers forced to swim a canal, resulting in the drowning of Kareem, 15. Kareem's father and Hanoon are pursuing a claim for damages.

Hassan's statement: 'They enjoyed abusing us'
At 7am my friends convinced me to head towards Camp Breadbasket in order to steal dried milk cartons in order to sell them on the black market. The hangars were surrounded by a high fence, though there was an opening in the fence. Next to the fence there was a road, then a river.

When we tried to leave the hangars via the opening in the fence British soldiers chased us. We tried to run away but were caught. Some Iraqis managed to escape arrest. I believe some may have drowned as they were trying to escape the British.

British soldiers caught me and started beating me and others using their vehicle's aerials. They were beating us very harshly. We were led inside the hangars while still being beaten all the way. The beating became stronger when we were inside the camp. I was kept in a hangar along with four other Iraqis.

They ordered us to take off our clothes by gesturing to us to do so. When we refused they continued beating us, so we had to follow their orders. They made us sit on each other's laps. I was with one of the detainees, while another two detainees were made to do the same thing, as in the photos. They were enjoying humiliating and abusing us. I wished I was dead at this moment. Then they made me sit with Tariq as in the other photo, where I was forced to put Tariq's penis in my mouth. The other two were made to do the same.

They locked the hangar while we were inside and left us there with no food or drink till the afternoon of the day after, when they opened the hangar and let us go. Since then I fled Basra altogether as I cannot see Tariq again after what had happened, despite the fact that we were close friends.

British soldiers accused of sickening sex assault on Iraqi boy, 14 - Home News, UK - The Independent

***

Oh goodness me. Surely a mistake here ... Those are your boys ain't they Macha? No the one's in uniform.

Originally Posted by Texpat

British soldiers accused of sickening sex assault on Iraqi boy, 14 - Home News, UK - The Independent

***

Oh goodness me. Surely a mistake here ... Those are your boys ain't they Macha? No the one's in uniform.

Okay seriously now......what do you mean by this?? As far as I can understand it has got nothing to do with the post you are replying to.

What has the U.S of A leaving Iraq got to do with British perverts??

And why do you refer to them as my people?? What do you mean by saying "my People"??

P.S: Don't think hard because you know what is gonna happen to you if you think a lot.

Originally Posted by Texpat

British soldiers forced a boy of 14 to carry out an act of oral sex on a fellow male prisoner in Iraq, according to shocking new allegations made about the behaviour of British troops.

When losing an argument, change the subject, especially to one which has a sexual angle. That'll work.

^ Have a strong coffee, Macha.
He's ex Air Force, think Bottoms.

When losing an argument, change the subject, especially to one which has a sexual angle. That'll work.

There really isn't an argument raging at the moment. Some posters think an MOU in lieu of a SOFA amounts to Iraq telling Geroge B. to get stuffed. They're having wet dreams.

And this thread is named Iraq news. Young Hassan certainly thinks the story in the post above is germane.

Your moral high ground is disappearing quickly.

Nah!......I just want to know what he means by saying "Your People" thats it.

Originally Posted by Texpat

There really isn't an argument raging at the moment. Some posters think an MOU in lieu of a SOFA amounts to Iraq telling Geroge B. to get stuffed. They're having wet dreams.

And this thread is named Iraq news. Young Hassan certainly thinks the story in the post above is germane.

Your moral high ground is disappearing quickly.

Still skillfully ignoring my question and coming up with a drivel of shit. Keep dancing....

Ooops no, not dancing. Keep juggling, you clown.

US issues threat to Iraq's $50bn foreign reserves in military deal


By Patrick Cockburn
Friday, 6 June 2008

AFP/Getty Images

Under the planned pact, reported in The Independent yesterday, US soldiers in Iraq will enjoy legal immunity
"The US is holding hostage some $50bn (£25bn) of Iraq's money in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to pressure the Iraqi government into signing an agreement seen by many Iraqis as prolonging the US occupation indefinitely, according to information leaked to The Independent.

US negotiators are using the existence of $20bn in outstanding court judgments against Iraq in the US, to pressure their Iraqi counterparts into accepting the terms of the military deal, details of which were reported for the first time in this newspaper yesterday.
Iraq's foreign reserves are currently protected by a presidential order giving them immunity from judicial attachment but the US side in the talks has suggested that if the UN mandate, under which the money is held, lapses and is not replaced by the new agreement, then Iraq's funds would lose this immunity. The cost to Iraq of this happening would be the immediate loss of $20bn. The US is able to threaten Iraq with the loss of 40 per cent of its foreign exchange reserves because Iraq's independence is still limited by the legacy of UN sanctions and restrictions imposed on Iraq since Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in the 1990s. This means that Iraq is still considered a threat to international security and stability under Chapter Seven of the UN charter. The US negotiators say the price of Iraq escaping Chapter Seven is to sign up to a new "strategic alliance" with the United States."

US issues threat to Iraq's $50bn foreign reserves in military deal - Middle East, World - The Independent

All is fair in love and oil, -- sorry I mean war. he he.

^I wondered when the invoice for invasion and occupation costs would be rendered to Iraq...

Now we know!

Originally Posted by Boon Mee

What say you now you Nattering Nabobs of Negativism

Originally Posted by Boon Mee

the Sadrist militia and other Iranian-backed militant groups have been disrupted.

The deal was brokered by the Iranians- the US was entirely left out of the process, and are quite sore about it.

Originally Posted by Boon Mee

al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) has been dealt a devastating blow

Dealt a blow for sure- their ultraviolence disgusted the mostly moderate Sunni population of Iraq, and many militia's- in return for arming and funding by the USA- turned against them, which is good. Unfortunately this pissed off the US propped up, Shiite dominated government- because many of those same militia's have indicated they are still at war with the Iraqi government that they do not recognise, and will turn their arms against them when the time is right.

Hence the Iraqi government is now sidling up to the Iranians, and distancing itself more from the US Occupation.

Can of Worms springs to mind. No amount of political lies will alter the fact- the invasion and occupation of Iraq stands as a Failure, a stark failure of US foreign policy that will be remembered for several generations.

Sorry booner.

Originally Posted by sabang

Sorry booner.

Sorry about what?
I'm simply bringing forward the 'new reality' in Iraq.
Plus - that Surge that Obama is trying to distance himself from!

Originally Posted by Milkman

We'll see if they are even allowed to.

They will be- lets face it, they have the best technology and kit anyway. And the Iraqi gov't still wants that US miltary muscle on call for a while, to cling to it's existence. They won't be able to monopolise it though (French Total is already in there), and Bush' vapid promises about sharing the plunder between the coalition of the villains has fallen on stony ground.

The same thing could have been achieved cheaper, and with less violence and less destabilisation to the ME. Such consolation prize as the US/UK receives will be their share on the oil revenues and profits though.

Originally Posted by Panda

Originally Posted by sabang

But the Iraqi demand for withdrawal makes it clear that the Bush administration was not really in control of events in Iraq, and that Shi'ite political opposition and Iranian diplomacy could trump US military power.

Full article - http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/JG12Ak01.html


This is not the sort of stuff that makes our mainstream Press Headlines, but if the gist of the article proves correct it signals the total strategic failure of the whole Iraqi invasion and occupation. Not only does the US fail to gain a sizable military presence in Iraq/ the Middle East as planned- this being one of the fundamental reasons to invade in the first place, but Iraq (thanks to the invasion) effectively becomes part of the Iranian sphere of influence, with a Shiite dominated government that listens to Iran. This already seems the case. Add to that the financial cost of the excercise and the human casualties, and this spells one massive blunder by the Neo-cons.

If they had envisaged this, I reckon they would have preferred to keep Saddam in charge.

That's exactly the way it appears to be panning out. The Yanks are not the only ones who can switch sides and change strategy in their own national interests.

I believe the original Neocon plan Iraq was to oust Saddam and set up a pseudo democratic puppet government, de-nationalize the oil industry, break from OPEC, and occupy the country indefinitely to ensure control. It doesn't seem to working out as planned though.

Haha. You guys had it all figured out and when it didn't play out as you envisioned you say it didn't play out as Bush planned.

There are negotiations going on and it's the frigging Middle East to boot. Both sides are starting high. Iraqis ask for a timetable. The US asks for permanent bases (or some sort of 99 year lease). They meet somewhere in between. What's so odd about that? Should the US have opened with exactly what they considered would be agreeable? al-Maliki is playing to the Iraqi people's pride. I bet somehow he hopes he can balance this thing so the USA stays on. The money is too good.

Quiet Iraq streets leave soldiers yearning for Afghanistan.

The relative calm is apparent in Baghdad’s Ghazaliyah neighborhood, patrolled by troops stationed at Maverick from the 1st Squadron, 75th Cavalry Regiment of the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division.
Instead of facing gunfire and roadside bombs, the soldiers’ armored Humvees are chased by waving children as they weave through streets crowded with pedestrians out to shop or just to stroll.

Some of Maverick’s troops saw combat a few months ago when they helped the Iraqi army take over the Ghazaliyah office of anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr in a battle complete with gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades. But their days in Ghazaliyah have mostly been filled with routine patrols. The soldiers’ job is to serve as a critical presence that helps keep violence down in the mixed Sunni and Shiite neighborhood.
“Ninety-five percent of the time it is perfectly quiet in Ghazaliyah now,” said 1st Lt. Shane Smith, who leads one of the three platoons at Maverick.

Quiet can mean boredom, as Gebhart and a colleague turn in another four-hour shift in one of Maverick’s guard towers, looking over a landscape of two-story concrete buildings and green fields dotted with a few cows and goats.

To while away the time, the young soldier from Omaha, Nebraska, talks of his brother, who is fighting the Taliban in the mountains outside Kandahar city in southern Afghanistan. “He spends 20 days at a time camped out in the mountains, and the Taliban come engage them in serious firefights,” said Gebhart. “At least it sounds exciting.”

Quiet Iraq streets leave soldiers yearning for Afghanistan - CNN.com

Yep, sure sounds like a Quagmire don't it?

15 dead in Iraq car bomb

A car bomb in northern Iraq killed at least 15 people including children today in a sign that militants retain the ability to cause mass casualties despite a sharp improvement in security. In the south, US-led forces handed control of a province to the Iraqi government.
Ninety people were injured in the blast near a popular market in Tal Afar, said a police official who requested anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to the media. Seven of the dead were children....

Diyala province, northeast of Baghdad, is another trouble spot. Yesterday two suicide bombers killed 28 people in a crowd of army recruits outside a military base there. Iraq has said it will soon launch an offensive in Diyala against militants who are trying to regroup, and US commanders say they will assist.
Some insurgents are believed to have holed up in the northern city of Mosul after being driven out of other urban strongholds, and relatively small-scale attacks happen there almost daily. Today a car bomb exploded there killing two people and injuring nine, police said.
About an hour earlier on the same side of the city a suicide bomber blew up a car near a US military patrol and six civilians were injured, a police official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to the media.
A female suicide bomber blew herself up yesterday inside the Baghdad house of a municipal leader who was planning to establish a US-allied Sunni group in the area, an official connected with the group said.
Three men died and seven others were injured, said the official, who did not want to be named for security reasons. Saad Awad, a municipal leader in the Abu Ghraib district, escaped unharmed but his father was among those killed.
AP
15 dead in Iraq car bomb - World - smh.com.au

Iraq says hope slim for security deal with current U.S. gov't


BAGHDAD, July 14 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi government spokesman gave a dim outlook Monday of reaching a security agreement with the current U.S. administration.

"There is a large possibility of postponing the signing of the long-term agreement between Iraq and the U.S., until a new U.S. administration is elected," Ali al-Dabbagh was quoted as saying by the Voice of Iraq news agency.
Their disputes include a timetable for the pullout of foreign troops and how the U.S. forces would operate in Iraq, Dabbagh said, adding that both sides were trying to achieve the maximum gains.
The negotiations for a long-term bilateral agreement started March, aimed at framing a sweeping arrangement for future mutual relations, including the security issue, after the UN mandate on Iraq expires at the end of this year. Yet, they are locked in differences over the status of the U.S. force in Iraq in the coming years.

Iraq says hope slim for security deal with current U.S. gov't_English_Xinhua

US Troop levels are likely to come down in the coming months. An interesting time coming up- will a fragile truce remain, or will conflict break out again? I don't know the answer.

Some news is not so good-

Fallujah's flames rekindled
By Ali al-Fadhily and Dahr Jamail

FALLUJAH - Security has collapsed again in Fallujah, despite United States military claims.

Local militias supported by US forces claim to have "cleansed" the city, 70 kilometers to the west of Baghdad, of all insurgency. But the sudden resignation of the city's chief of police, Colonel Fayssal al-Zoba'i, has appeared as one recent sign of growing unrest.

Authorities may have controlled the media better than the violence.

"Assassinations never stopped in Fallujah, but the media seem unwilling to cover the actual situation here," a human-rights activist in Fallujah, speaking on terms of anonymity given the tense situation, told Inter Press Service (IPS). "The two bomb blasts that killed six policemen earlier this month and another two that killed three on the weekend seem to have terminated the silence."
Asia Times Online :: Middle East News, Iraq, Iran current affairs

Some more encouraging-

Al Qaida bailing: Out of Iraq, into Africa
BAGHDAD — The Al Qaida network in Iraq, battered in the U.S.-led coalition offensive, has been sending scores of operatives to Africa.
Iraqi security sources said the Al Qaida network in Iraq has ordered hundreds of foreign operatives to leave the country. The sources said scores of Al Qaida fighters left Iraq for northern and eastern Africa during 2008.

"Many of them have escaped through the borders with Syria and Iran to hotter zones such as Somalia and Sudan," Iraqi Maj. Gen. Hussein Ali Kamal said.
World Tribune — Al Qaida bailing: Out of Iraq, into Africa

It's wait and see time.

^ Damn shame that Surge isn't working...

Originally Posted by Texpat

Anybody going to the homecoming parade? Panda, Anty, Sabang? Wanna join me? It'll be a great time. Budweiser and hotdogs with ketchup, cheering for the brave troops and waving our beloved flag.

Thanks but no. It's not my flag and I'm opposed to the war in Iraq. I'm sure you'll have a great time though.

Originally Posted by Texpat

Budweiser

I thought u wus a Patriot tex.
But if theres a party, count me in.