Iraq 2004 (July to December) - news archive

"Tony Hillier, Gate Ten supporter, receives industrious Brenda's fairfordpeacewatch regular e mail on Christmas Day 2004 and is immediately moved to scribble this with love and best wishes to all who believe and act on the fact that war is wrong."

"When the 'coalition of the willing' waged their dirty, illegal war on the long-suffering people of Iraq, they attacked a country where around half the population are aged under 18 years - it was, in effect, as if they were bombing a giant schoolyard. The children of Iraq, most of them only knowing a life under sanctions, are now used to the sights and sounds of war - bombs, gunfire, soldiers, tanks, humvees, checkpoints, helicopters, concrete blast blocks and razor wire are all seen everywhere everyday. The same helicopters, humvees and more bombs and gunfire interrupt their sleep nightly. This is the norm for these children. Would you want this to be the norm for your children? To most Iraqi children the sight of a dead body, blood, bombed buildings or maimed people is nothing special. The effect this has on them differs from child to child. I have returned home 6 hours after a roadside bomb went off outside the appartment to find my neighbours' children - Hamsa and Ayar, amongst others - playing happily and giggling. They, just hours before, saw two dead bodies lying bloodied and mutilated in their own street. But play continues. Would this happen with the children if a bomb went off in your neighbourhood? "

"This is an online version of the film "Dear Mrs.Blair". A video letter to Cherie Blair from Glaswegian mother Rose Gentle, whose son Gordon was killed in Iraq on 28 June 2004. Gordon was 19 years old; he'd joined the Army just six months earlier at his local Job Centre. Thursday 23rd of December 2004 would have been his 20th birthday. The 15 minute film, made by Camcorder Guerillas, has music by Belle and Sebastian"

Quicktime and Windows Media formats, plus smaller clips for modem users.

"A leading American contractor has pulled out of a major Iraqi reconstruction project, the latest sign of how the ever-increasing violence in Iraq threatens to overwhelm America's plans to democratise and rebuild the country. The news emerged less than 24 hours after the devastating explosion at the US military base near Mosul in which 22 people were killed, including 14 soldiers and four contractors, which has sent shock-waves through the United States."

"Senior MPs warn British troops will be in Iraq for a decade, as Blair in Baghdad proclaims: 'We are not a nation of quitters' … The Independent has learned a cross-party group of MPs has returned from Iraq convinced British troops may have to be deployed there for at least another 10 years."

"The truth of what happened in Halabja had always been hidden from the public, and many who knew exactly what happened in this Kurdish village in the second half of March 1988 disputed the western media coverage of the story. Iraq has acknowledged using mustard gas against Iranian troops to overwhelm the human waves tactic used by Iranians who wanted to benefit from the fact that they outnumbered Iraqis, but has consistently denied using chemical weapons against civilians. The only verified Kurdish civilian deaths from chemical weapons occurred in the Iraqi village of Halabja, near the Iran border, are several hundred people who died from gas poisoning in mid-March 1988. Iran overran the village and its small Iraqi garrison on 15 March 1988. The gassing took place on 16 March and onwards; who is then responsible for the deaths - Iran or Iraq - and how large was the death toll knowing the Iranian army was in Halabja but never reported any deaths by chemicals?"

"US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has pledged to personally sign letters of condolence to the families of American soldiers killed in action. He spoke shortly after his admission that he had used a machine to sign letters to relatives of more than 1,000 troops killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. "

"Senior army commanders have expressed fears that the increasingly vocal anti-Iraq war movement is discouraging thousands of young men from considering a career in the armed forces. They blame high-profile campaigns against the war, often led by bereaved parents and supported by celebrities and political figures, for worsening recruitment problems, particularly into the infantry."

"Patrick Cockburn has been an invaluable source of information for anyone wanting to know what is going on in Iraq. As a correspondent for Britain's Independent newspaper, he has written regular reports from Iraq throughout the occupation. In November, he spoke to Socialist Worker's Alan Maass about what really happened in Fallujah - and why Washington's "victory" in this battle won't help it win the war. "

"Pentagon officials announced last week that 12,000 more troops would be deployed to Iraq in time for the country's scheduled January elections--raising the total number to 150,000. For soldiers who were promised a "quick" war and told that they would be welcomed as "liberators," the news will add to growing bitterness and frustration. That frustration is beginning to drive some soldiers--particularly reservists--to take action. Like Emiliano Santiago, an Oregon reservist who recently filed a lawsuit challenging the military's "stop-loss" policy, which prevents soldiers whose enlistments are up from leaving the military."

"LAST JUNE, Iraq veteran Jeffrey Lucey went into the basement of his family's Massachusetts home and hung himself. The 23-year-old Marine was subsumed with guilt after killing two unarmed Iraqi soldiers last year. He told his sister he looked the men in the eyes before closing his own eyes and pulling the trigger. He threw the two dead soldiers' dog tags at her and shouted, "Don't you understand? Your brother is a murderer!" "

"On a trip to Iraq, US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld came under sustained attack for the poor quality of equipment that was putting US troops in danger. This would have been a familiar story to those who attended the recent day long teach in at ULU organised by Iraq Occupation Focus. US veterans who are speaking out against the war spoke at the conference on the lack of body armour, the lack of armoured vehicles and in general the poor state and inadequacy of equipment. GIs are scavenging rubbish tips to find bits of scrap metal to provide some protection for their vehicles. Others who spoke at the conference spoke of the poor training of the US troops, that when they were on the streets, you avoided them as they had the propensity to open fire on very little pretext and with no warning. Paola Gasparoli (Italian human rights activist, Un Ponte per Baghdad) said they opened fire if they felt under threat, and that no one knew what the 'rules of engagement' were."

"I was told in basic training that, if I'm given an illegal or immoral order, it is my duty to disobey it, and I feel that invading and occupying Iraq is an illegal and immoral thing to do." Spc. Jeremy Hinzman

"Forty-six eminent figures including military men, ex-diplomats and bishops have written to Tony Blair urging a inquiry into civilian deaths in Iraq. It comes after a study in medical journal the Lancet said nearly 100,000 died following the invasion. The study, by US and Iraqi researchers, suggested the risk of violent death was higher after the war than before. UK ministers rejected October's Lancet figures, but have offered no alternative estimate of their own."

"US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld faced a grilling when he visited troops about to face combat in Iraq. Mr Rumsfeld was at Camp Buehring, Kuwait, to deliver a pep-talk to soldiers about the significance of the task ahead of them. "Why do we soldiers have to dig through local landfills for pieces of scrap metal and compromised ballistic glass to uparmour our vehicles?" Army Spc Thomas Wilson asked. His question brought cheers from some 2,000 fellow soldiers - mostly Reserve and National Guard troops - assembled in an aircraft hangar for the question-and-answer session that followed Mr Rumsfeld's speech."

"Eight US soldiers have begun legal action in an effort to stop the US army extending their tours of duty in Iraq. With US forces stretched by deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, many units have been ordered to stay on longer than originally expected. Soldiers have been kept abroad even if the date they were due to leave the army has passed. The soldiers, seven of whom have stayed anonymous, are believed to be the first active-duty personnel to sue the army. Lawyers for the men have teamed up with the Center for Constitutional Rights, a liberal public interest group, to launch a class action lawsuit calling for an end to the practice known as "stop loss"."

"Iraq's health system is in a far worse condition than before the war, a British medical charity says. Doctors from the group Medact conducted surveys with international aid groups and Iraqi health workers in September. They exposed poor sanitation in many hospitals, shortages of drugs and qualified staff and huge gaps in services for mothers and children. Medact, which monitors healthcare in post-conflict areas, called for an inquiry into the situation. It has also challenged the British government to set up a commission to establish the level of civilian casualties in Iraq."

"Further to our last e-mail, we are developing our plans for campaigning leading up to the next national demonstration against war, to be held on March 19 2005. We are proposing to call a national day of action (including direct action) around the country on February 15. This will be a chance for all groups to take some form of anti-war action in their communities/workplaces, and will include a major symbolic action in London. ... We will also be organising a series of rallies around the country. These may in some cases be co-ordinated with a symbolic march or motorcade coming down from Scotland as a focus for activity in the towns through which it passes. ... March 19 will probably be our last mass mobilisation before the general election, the last major event for the anti-war movement in the present parliamentary cycle. It is crucial that the date gets advertised as widely as possible as early as possible. Please help make this demonstration - which we are hoping will include some different features - worthy of the great movement of the last three years."

"Naomi Klein, author of the anti-globalisation treatise, No Logo, gave a talk at Friends Meeting House in London on the corporate rape and pillage of Iraq, 24 November 2004. I thought I'd arrive early, but apparently not early enough. There were two long queues down the road. Luckily I had booked, which gave me access. Once inside, the place was packed. A long-winded introduction by the chairman. When there is someone worth listening to, why cannot these people just open the meeting with an introduction to the speaker, and then pass over the microphone? The talk by Naomi Klein was in two parts, the first looked at the US elections and the US failed peace movement, the second at what was happening in Iraq today and why."

This is a primer written by anonymous authors under the banner heading of Bring The War Home. It is a discussion piece about organising direct action against the occupation of Iraq and those who support it.

"Anyone naive enough to think that the Iraqi elections scheduled for January will produce a genuinely, as opposed to formally, independent government is likely to have their illusions shattered by a new crackdown on political opposition to the US occupation. Washington appears to be particularly sensitive to Iraqi criticism of its attack on Fallujah. At dawn on November 16, US troops raided the house of Nasir Ayif and took him into custody. Ayif is the deputy head of Iraq's consultative parliament — the National Council — and a leader of the Iraqi Islamic Party (IIP). Washington's motivation for arresting Ayif isn't hard to discern. Little more than a week earlier, on November 8, the IIP announced it was withdrawing from participation in the US-appointed Interim Government of Iraq because of IGI Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's support for the US military's invasion of Fallujah."

"Harold Pinter and author Iain Banks are to join MPs at Westminster to call for Tony Blair's impeachment over Iraq. Twenty-three members have signed a Commons motion calling for the prime minister to be thrown from office. They say he misled Parliament over the case for invading Iraq and want a probe by MPs to examine his conduct in relation to the war. But the impeachment bid is widely expected to fail and probably will not even be debated in the Commons."

"The operation began with 11 simultaneous early-morning raids in Jabella, west of the Euphrates River and about 40 miles south of Baghdad, said Col. Ron Johnson, commander of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which is leading the effort. The new push can be seen as the opening of a third front - after the invasion of Falluja and more limited operations in the north around Mosul - by American-led forces against the insurgency. Officials said it would involve 2,000 to 3,000 American marines, soldiers and sailors, more than 1,000 members of Iraqi security forces and 850 members of the Black Watch, a British infantry battalion."

"The story of Blair, Lord Goldsmith, his attorney-general, and the legal advice has leaked out in dribs and drabs. I have had conversations that cast further light on a troubling chain of events. The evidence suggests that Blair, along with the Americans, leant on Goldsmith to change his mind; that the legal advice privately presented to Blair did not explicitly sanction war; and that the later version of that advice on which MPs based their decisions 10 days later was wholly different. A commercial barrister and friend of the Blairs with little experience of international law, Goldsmith shifted his position on the legality of war not once, but twice. He was asked by Blair to stay silent until he could guarantee that his advice was helpful to justifying war. Even then his first attempt was not deemed positive, so a new version was produced. If the doubts had been made public, our armed forces could have been vulnerable to legal challenge."

"To Prime Minister Tony Blair, My name is Maxine Gentle and I am 14 years old. I am the sister of Fusilier Gordon Gentle who died in the war in Iraq on the 28th June 2004. I want my thoughts and feelings to be heard and known. My feelings are that I think you are rubbish at your job. You don't care about the British public, armed forces or anyone in fact. My big brother died at the age of 19, and what for? A war over oil and money, that's what I think the war is all about. There was no such thing as weapons of "mass destruction", if there were Saddam Hussein would have used them at the start of the war."

"The CPS has dropped charges against two protestors who argue that the privatisation of the Iraqi economy is illegal under international law and that an event held in April 2004 - The Iraq Procurement Conference - was illegal as it was aiding and abetting acts of pillage. The two have picked up the case and demanded it be heard, in effect now taking the government and event organisers to court."

"A 15-mile stretch between Baghdad airport and the city centre is said to be the world's most expensive taxi ride. Small convoys of armoured cars and Western gunmen charge about £2,750 ($5,108) for the perilous journey. The route, known as the Qadisiyah Expressway, has become the scene of regular attacks and kidnappings by insurgents. The high-speed drive costs four times more than the £670 Royal Jordanian charges for a one-way flight from London to Baghdad via Amman. It equates to about £183 a mile compared to 25p a mile for the 2,540-mile flight on the only commercial airline flying to Baghdad."

"The parliamentary motion to impeach Tony Blair for "gross misconduct" over the war against Iraq will be published next Wednesday, the day after the Queen's speech. It will be the first to be tabled in 198 years, since Lord Melville, a close friend of the then prime minister, William Pitt the younger, faced impeachment for misusing public money in running the Admiralty. Senior parliamentary officials, including legal advisers to the Commons Speaker, Michael Martin, on Wednesday night approved the wording of the text as meeting parliamentary rules, allowing the motion to be tabled on the first day of the new session. The Tory chief whip, David Maclean, has paged every Tory frontbench MP telling them not to sign it. The Liberal Democrats are divided, with Jenny Tonge, the MP for Richmond, among those supporting the idea and Sir Menzies Campbell, the party's foreign affairs spokesman, strongly opposing it. No Labour MP is expected to sign the motion for fear of losing the party whip for bringing the leader into disrepute."

" by Andy Newman The United States has 140000 troops in Iraq, clearly insufficient to control the situation. These American forces are already feeling the strain. With well over 1000 dead, they have also suffered more than 4000 severely wounded many with brain damage and often with multiple limb loss. By January 2004 there had been at least 22 GI suicides in Iraq. The report of a US Army mental health team that went to Iraq in the autumn of 2003 found that 52% of troops in Iraq reported low or very low personal morale, and 70% reported low or very low unit morale. A paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine reported 19.5 per cent of troops who served in Iraq had moderate or severe mental health problems. If milder symptoms such as anxiety are included, the number rises to 27.9 per cent."

" By Robert Fisk. Beirut - Who killed Margaret Hassan? After the grief, the astonishment, heartbreak, anger and fury over the apparent murder of such a good and saintly woman, that is the question her friends - and, quite possibly, the Iraqi insurgents - will be asking. This Anglo-Irish woman held an Iraqi passport. She had lived in Iraq for 30 years, she had dedicated her life to the welfare of Iraqis in need. She hated the United Nations sanctions and opposed the Anglo-American invasion. So who killed Margaret Hassan?"

"A new report [1] by GRAIN and Focus on the Global South has found that new legislation in Iraq has been carefully put in place by the US that prevents farmers from saving their seeds and effectively hands over the seed market to transnational corporations. This, say the writers, is a disastrous turn of events for Iraqi farmers, biodiversity and the country's food security. While political sovereignty remains an illusion, food sovereignty for the Iraqi people has been made near impossible by these new regulations. In 2002, the Food And Agriculture Orgainsation (FAO) estimated that 97 percent of Iraqi farmers used saved seed from their own stocks from last year's harvest or purchased from local markets. When the new law - on plant variety protection (PVP) - is put into effect, seed saving will be illegal and the market will only offer proprietary "PVP-protected" planting material "invented" by transnational agribusiness corporations. The new law totally ignores all the contributions Iraqi farmers have made to development of important crops like wheat, barley, date and pulses. Its consequences are the loss of farmers' freedoms and a grave threat to food sovereignty in Iraq. In this way, the US has declared a new war against the Iraqi farmer."

"One lone protester (me) sat on the pavement outside Liverpool Cathedral attempting to communicate with Prime Minister Blair. Today, Blair continued to sponsor widespread killing and bombing in Iraq, but situated himself in the middle of a funeral to avoid the criticism by trying to make it impossible to say anything against him without causing collateral damage on the grieving relatives. There were vast numbers of secret policemen tottering around, and the uniformed police tried to move me twice with the usual: "It's not allowed to hold a banner here" (isn't this still a public place?), "What's the sign mean?" (can't you tell?) "We have to protect the public safety from people holding signs," (come again?) "What are you trying to do?" (communicate with someone it's impossible to communicate with, because you guys filter any message getting through) "You're not going to do anything crazy and disruptive?" (and I'd be holding a sign, rather than milling around with my hands in my pockets like everyone else?) "

" The House of Lords (Judicial Appeals Committee) has granted leave to hear the appeal of the Fairford Five !!!!

The question as to whether or not the "Nuremberg principles" international criminal offence (re the execution of Goering, Keitel, von Ribentrop et al) of a crime against peace / international aggression is now also a crime under English Law for which individuals in this country may be held liable, including also those claiming government immunity (the Royal Prerogative) i.e. Bliar, Straw & Hoon et al is to be litigated before the highest court in the land.

To say this is the biggest peace protest case of the past 50 years is no overstatement !"

"The death of Pte Tukutukuwaqa has cast light on the large number of Fijians serving in the Army. Even though the South Pacific islands became independent from Britain in 1970, military chiefs have found the country a fertile recruiting ground as the number of Britons willing to join up has waned. With a history of fighting alongside British soldiers dating back to the Second World War, they have served in Malaya, Borneo and Oman. Alongside this well-established military tradition, the British Royal Family is held in high esteem by many Fijians. But it is the high unemployment and low wages at home that have created the lure of serving the former colonial power. A spokesman for the Fiji embassy in London said more than 2,000 Fijians were serving with British regiments"

"North Wiltshire MP James Gray has called for a fundamental and urgent review of Britain's Iraq policy. He challenged Foreign Secretary Jack Straw to reconsider the UK's role in the conflict, after a week in which British armed forces suffered record losses. Mr Gray ­ who originally voted for the war ­ also pointed to the current violence in Fallujah, insisting the situation was "astonishing". "

Photo of a bridge decorated with the words "Impeach Tony Blair - liar war criminal murderer"

"On Friday 29th October 2004, the Lancet medical journal published a study of post-war mortality in Iraq which estimated that at least 100,000 excess civilian deaths had occurred since the 2003 invasion; that most were caused by violence; and that most of those violent deaths were caused by coalition air strikes.

In his daily press briefing that morning, the Prime Minister's Official Spokesperson (PMOS) dismissed the study since its methodology was, he claimed, inappropriate:

“Asked if the Prime Minister was concerned about a survey published today suggesting that 100,000 Iraqi civilians had died as a result of the war in Iraq, the PMOS said that it was important to treat the figures with caution because there were a number of concerns and doubts about the methodology that had been used. Firstly, the survey appeared to be based on an extrapolation technique rather than a detailed body count. Our worries centred on the fact that the technique in question appeared to treat Iraq as if every area was one and the same. In terms of the level of conflict, that was definitely not the case. Secondly, the survey appeared to assume that bombing had taken place throughout Iraq. Again, that was not true. It had been focussed primarily on areas such as Fallujah. Consequently, we did not believe that extrapolation was an appropriate technique to use.” ( http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page6535.asp )

These criticisms of the Lancet mortality survey were repeated again on 1st November. They are misleading, and almost entirely unfounded. This briefing note examines the claims of the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesperson."

"Lulled into a false confidence by the small numbers earlier in Parliament Square, police were caught out by the mass of people pushing across Whitehall to lay white flowers in remembrance of Iraq’s dead and soon-to-be dead. As they tried to corral demonstrators into manageable groups, those returning from the Cenotaph formed ranks and sat down in the road. Confusion broke out amongst the police and by the time they realised what was happening the road was blocked. As police re-formed and started to try to carry people away, the crowd formed squares and locked arms. Clearly non-violent action workshops are now making their mark in the leafy shires of England. The action came as part of a peaceful protest in Parliament Square against imminent action in Fallujah."

"Iraq's government has declared a 60-day state of emergency in response to the escalation of violence by militants. Official spokesman Thaer Naqib said the emergency would cover the whole of Iraq except Kurdish-run areas in the north. It is not clear at this stage what the state of emergency will mean in practice. Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi is due to give full details on Monday. However, the BBC's Alastair Leithead in Baghdad says it could include a curfew and extra powers for the police and military."

"Among many changes, the US-UK Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), has laid off hundreds of thousands of Iraqi workers, virtually eliminated trade tariffs and enacted laws that radically alter Iraq's economy. Order 39, decreed by CPA head Paul Bremer on September 20 2003, abolished Iraq's ban on foreign investment, allowing foreigners to own up to 100% of all sectors except natural resources. Over 200 state-owned enterprises, including electricity, telecommunications and pharmaceuticals have been privatised. Iraq's highest tax rate has been lowered from 45% to a flat rate of 15%. Although foreign ownership of land remains illegal, companies or individuals will be allowed to lease properties for up to 40 years. These laws stand in clear violation of Iraq's constitution, as is openly admitted. The US department of commerce notes that "the Iraqi constitution prohibits foreign ownership of immovable (real) property," and "prohibits investment in, and establishment of, companies in Iraq by foreigners who are not resident citizens of Arab countries." "

"This IOF Newsletter is produced as a free service for all those opposed to the occupation. In order to strengthen our campaign, please make sure you sign up to receive the free newsletter automatically – go to: http://lists.riseup.net/www/info/iraqfocus. Please also ask all those who share our opposition to the increasingly brutal US-UK occupation to do likewise. Bush’s re-election and the tragic deaths of three UK soldiers in Iraq should be a signal for all those opposed to the occupation to renew and redouble their campaigning efforts. With the assault on Fallujah and Ramadi imminent, it’s time to escalate our activity. More than ever we need to focus on Iraq and step our demands for immediate, unilateral, and complete withdrawal of all UK forces from Iraq."

Fallujah assault imminent / STOP THE ASSAULT ON FALLUJAH! / Non-violent direct action training workshop / Lancet study: 100,000 Iraqis killed since invasion / Intense struggle in Ramadi / Next Iraq Occupation Focus organising meeting / Attacks halt oil flow / Bush rejected Muslim peacekeepers / Vietnam tactics in Iraq: helicopters hover and kill / Zarqawi’s role in Iraq overstated, analysts say / Iraqi regime slashes subsidies / Black Watch regiment in Baghdad / Journalists under attack / Justice for Iraq’s detainees: Speaking tour: 13–21 November / Breaking Ranks: opposition to war and occupation in the US military / Making A Killing: The Corporate Invasion of Iraq / Occupation and Resistance in Iraq: An International Teach-in

"Three Black Watch soldiers were killed in an ambush by Iraq rebels on Thursday. Sgt Stuart Grey, Pte Paul Lowe and Pte Scott McArdle and an Iraqi translator were killed, and eight others were injured, on the eastern bank of the River Euphrates. British troops were moved further into Iraq last week - to the former US base of Camp Dogwood - in an attempt to stop rebel fighters reaching Falluja. Are you a serving in Iraq or know someone who is? What is your reaction to the deaths of the soldiers? Should the Black Watch have taken over the US troops' operations?"

"A Black Watch soldier who died in a suicide bombing which killed two of his colleagues did not think troops should have been in Iraq, his brother said. Sgt Stuart Gray, 31, Pte Paul Lowe, 19, and Pte Scott McArdle, 22, all from Fife, were killed near Falluja. Speaking at the family's home in Kelty, Pte Lowe's 18-year-old brother Craig said the family was "devastated". "He didn't think he should be there because the regiment had already done their time over there," he said. He said his brother thought it was a war "which nobody knows why it was started or what it was done for"."

"Hungary announced Wednesday that it would withdraw its 300 troops from Iraq, Spain's Socialist government withdrew its 1,300 troops after it swept into power last March, reversing the commitment of the prior center-right government of Prime Minister José María Aznar. The Dominican Republic withdrew 302 soldiers, Nicaragua 115 and Honduras 370. The Philippines withdrew its 51 in July, a month early, after insurgents took hostage a Filipino truck driver working for a Saudi company. Norway withdrew 155 military engineers, keeping only 15 staff members to help NATO train and equip the Iraqi security forces. Two large contributors to the international force - Britain, with 12,000 troops, and Italy, with more than 3,100 - have insisted they will not withdraw. But Poland, the fourth-largest contributor, with 2,400 troops, says it intends to withdraw by the end of next year, and the Netherlands, with 1,400 troops, said this week that the latest rotation of troops would be its last contribution to Iraq."

"A small group of us met up yesterday and carried some pretty damn successful direct action around central london raising awareness about the imminent attacks on iraqi cities, the actions next Sunday and getting petitions signed."

"Through his op-ed column in the October 26 Sydney Morning Herald, Liberal Party historian and apologist for imperialism Gerard Henderson attempted to discredit the awarding of the Sydney Peace Prize to Indian writer and campaigner for global justice Arundhati Roy. Last year, the small but noisy Zionist lobby tried to discredit the awarding of the prize to Palestinian leader Dr Hanan Ashrawi. To its credit, the Sydney Peace Foundation stood its ground and the Palestinian national liberation struggle received some long overdue - but limited - recognition. And so it will be with Arundhati Roy, who will be in Sydney this week to accept the award. The likes of Henderson may be dismayed to find that, as Andrew Denton noted on the ABC's Enough Rope program on October 18, ''the more Roy's shouted down, the louder her voice gets''.

"Hungary will withdraw all of its 300 troops stationed in Iraq by the end of March 2005, the country's prime minister has said. Ferenc Gyurcsany made the announcement at a military ceremony in the capital Budapest on Wednesday. He said Hungary was obliged to keep its troops, who have a non-combat role, in Iraq until after elections in January. There has been intense pressure from the public and opposition groups to pull them out. The main conservative opposition party initially supported the war but changed its position and now favours withdrawal."

"WE are all aware of the facts leading up to the invasion of Iraq. We have now lost 68 of our finest sons. It is quite clear from opinion polls the public believe that someone, somewhere as the politicians say was economical with the truth. I personally, prefer, led up the garden path. The Government appears to have lost the trust of the nation on this matter. If, in the near future, the Prime Minister informs us a country in the Middle East has obtained an active nuclear weapon and seeks a mandate to invade that country from Parliament, it is highly likely, because of public opinion about Iraq, Parliament would say no. What if the Prime Minister was correct and, because of lack of response, the nuclear weapon was launched and there was retaliation? Get ready for World War Three, there won't be a fourth. "

"The death of the first British female soldier to be killed during military operations in Iraq brings the total number of fatalities among UK service personnel to 70. The first incident occurred at around midnight GMT on 21 March 2003 - the day after the start of the war - when a US Sea Knight helicopter crashed south of the Kuwait border, killing all eight British and four US personnel on board. The most recent death came days after a Black Watch soldier Private Kevin McHale, 27, was killed in a vehicle accident in North Babil province. So who are the servicemen and woman who have died in Iraq?" (full list)

"American officials have grossly inflated the role of Jordanian Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in the violence in Iraq in their eagerness to blame foreign terrorists for the insurgency, according to Jordanian analysts and Western diplomats."

"[T]hese analysts, as well as some Western diplomats, say Zarqawi's group is just one of many jihadist factions that attract fighters from Iraq and across the Arab world -- and that Zarqawi's capability and ties to Osama bin Laden have been exaggerated. They say American counter-terrorism officials are ignoring a wide array of fundamentalist groups at work in Iraq and surrounding countries in their effort to portray all terrorist activity in Iraq as the handiwork of a single mastermind. ''The bottom line is that America needs to create a serious public enemy who is not Iraqi so they can claim Iraqis aren't responsible for the resistance," said Labib Kamhawi, a Jordanian political analyst who regularly meets with Iraqi government leaders as well as opposition militants."

"The Pentagon is collecting figures on local casualties in Iraq, contrary to its public claims, but the results are classified, according to one of the authors of an independent study which reported last week that the war has killed at least 100,000 Iraqis. "Despite the claim of the head of US Central Command at the time, General Tommy Franks, that 'We don't do body counts', the US military does collect casualty figures in Iraq," said Professor Richard Garfield, an expert on the effects of conflict on civilians. "But since 1991, when Colin Powell was head of the joint chiefs of staff, the figures have been kept secret." "

"The UK Government will "examine with very great care" claims around 100,000 Iraqi civilians have died as a result of the US-led invasion, Jack Straw has said. A study in the Lancet said the majority of the victims were women and children killed due to military activity. The UK foreign secretary told the BBC's Today programme that another independent estimate of civilian deaths was around 15,000."

Note: for details of the civillian death toll in Iraq, see http://www.iraqbodycount.net/

"The present conflict in Iraq signals a contrast of paradoxical proportions. The Iraqi people, their interim government, and their largely US and British occupiers are preparing for landmark elections early in the new year. Yet a ruthlessly violent insurgency is successfully destabilising these arrangements, murdering foreign civilians and Iraqi law enforcement officers in the most brutal ways imaginable, and exploiting the world’s media in doing so. Amid this deep national uncertainty, it is hard to judge what is happening among Iraqis themselves. This week The Lancet publishes the first scientific study of the effects of this war on Iraqi civilians."

Plus a debate on whether Saddam would have acheived the same death toll had he remained in power.

"Background: In March, 2003, military forces, mainly from the USA and the UK, invaded Iraq. We did a survey to compare mortality during the period of 14·6 months before the invasion with the 17·8 months after it.

Methods: A cluster sample survey was undertaken throughout Iraq during September, 2004. 33 clusters of 30 households each were interviewed about household composition, births, and deaths since January, 2002. In those households reporting deaths, the date, cause, and circumstances of violent deaths were recorded. We assessed the relative risk of death associated with the 2003 invasion and occupation by comparing mortality in the 17·8 months after the invasion with the 14·6-month period preceding it.

Findings: The risk of death was estimated to be 2·5-fold (95% CI 1·6–4·2) higher after the invasion when compared with the preinvasion period. Two-thirds of all violent deaths were reported in one cluster in the city of Falluja. If we exclude the Falluja data, the risk of death is 1·5-fold (1·1–2·3) higher after the invasion. We estimate that 98 000 more deaths than expected (8000–194 000) happened after the invasion outside of Falluja and far more if the outlier Falluja cluster is included. The major causes of death before the invasion were myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular accidents, and other chronic disorders whereas after the invasion violence was the primary cause of death. Violent deaths were widespread, reported in 15 of 33 clusters, and were mainly attributed to coalition forces. Most individuals reportedly killed by coalition forces were women and children. The risk of death from violence in the period after the invasion was 58 times higher (95% CI 8·1–419) than in the period before the war.

Interpretation: Making conservative assumptions, we think that about 100 000 excess deaths, or more have happened since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Violence accounted for most of the excess deaths and air strikes from coalition forces accounted for most violent deaths. We have shown that collection of public-health information is possible even during periods of extreme violence. Our results need further veri?cation and should lead to changes to reduce noncombatant deaths from air strikes."

PDF format - you need the free Acrobat reader from http://www.adobe.com/ to read it.

"The first scientific study of the human cost of the Iraq war suggests that at least 100,000 Iraqis have lost their lives since their country was invaded in March 2003. More than half of those who died were women and children killed in air strikes, researchers say. Previous estimates have put the Iraqi death toll at around 10,000 - ten times the 1,000 members of the British, American and multi-national forces who have died so far. But the study, published in The Lancet, suggested that Iraqi casualties could be as much as 100 times the coalition losses. It was also savagely critical of the failure by coalition forces to count Iraqi casualties."

"As the Black Watch set up camp at their new base in the dangerous zone south of Baghdad yesterday, their soldiers voiced anger over their deadly new mission."

"We have heard a lot about the 'Triangle of Death', which makes everyone nervous because it seems much worse up there than it has been down here. We have controlled the situation down here while the Americans seemed to have ruined it up there."

"Helen Williams has now left Iraq. She is currently in Amman, Jordan. She spends almost all of her time speaking to the many Iraqis, about their personal tragedies. She hopes to return to Iraq, when possible and continue her work there. This report is one of her, and Wejdy Adeeb's, personal tragedies. It is about the death of an Iraqi named ghareeb. He was one of the World's, far too few, heroes. He died in August, whilst returning from a Humanitarian mission to the besieged Holy city of Najaf. Because he was an Iraqi, his death was not reported. This event has had a deep and lasting effect on helen and Wejdy."

"The charity Care International has suspended its aid operations in Iraq after the abduction of its regional director in Baghdad. ublin-born Margaret Hassan was seized on her way to work in Baghdad on Tuesday. A video of Mrs Hassan was broadcast on al-Jazeera TV station, showing her with her hands tied behind her back. According to al-Jazeera an Iraqi armed group claimed to be holding Mrs Hassan, but had issued no demands. What can any government do to resolve such hostage situations? What is your reaction?"

"UK Defence Minister Geoff Hoon told MPs that the US request for help in Iraq is a military one and nothing to do with politics. America asked on October 10, for British soldiers to fill in behind forces north of Basra. If granted the US troops will then move to Iraq's most volatile areas, such as Falluja. No decision has been made but Mr Hoon said there would be "careful consideration" of the issues. How do you think the UK Government should respond to the American request for support? Does Britain have a duty to help? Do you believe it is a military request?"

"For generations, small farmers in Iraq operated in an essentially unregulated, informal seed supply system. Farm-saved seed and the free innovation with and exchange of planting materials among farming communities has long been the basis of agricultural practice. This has been made illegal under the new law. The seeds farmers are now allowed to plant - "protected" crop varieties brought into Iraq by transnational corporations in the name of agricultural reconstruction - will be the property of the corporations. While historically the Iraqi constitution prohibited private ownership of biological resources, the new US-imposed patent law introduces a system of monopoly rights over seeds. Inserted into Iraq's previous patent law is a whole new chapter on Plant Variety Protection (PVP) that provides for the "protection of new varieties of plants." PVP is an intellectual property right (IPR) or a kind of patent for plant varieties which gives an exclusive monopoly right on planting material to a plant breeder who claims to have discovered or developed a new variety. So the "protection" in PVP has nothing to do with conservation, but refers to safeguarding of the commercial interests of private breeders (usually large corporations) claiming to have created the new plants. "

"In the past six months alone, close to 4,000 Iraqis have been killed, and more than 15,000 injured in bombs, explosions and American air strikes. And behind the statistics, of course, there are the people whose lives have been quite literally ripped apart. It is hard to forget the face of a father running down a grimy hospital corridor carrying his small son, desperate to find anyone who might be able to help a little boy with a leg blown off. The American field hospitals of course are busy too, trying to patch up young men from half a world away, some of whom will be maimed for life."

"Kamil Mahdi writes about a development project which hits at the heart of Najaf's old quarters The old city of Najaf is being demolished. Bulldozers are moving in to complete the work of the tanks, missiles and airborne machine guns. The promised help for reconstruction appears to be conditional on the population leaving their homes and businesses in order to allow what is left of the city's old seminaries ( madrasas ), historic homes, khans, markets, cellars, catacombs; its alleys and its beautiful but damaged and neglected architecture, to be swept away in a mad rush to create free fire zones that are accessible for humvees."

"Iraq's interim government decided this week to postpone a population census designed to determine who will be eligible to vote in the general elections slated for January next year. The census is essential as the election plan requires registering some 12 million Iraqi voters who will be asked by October 2005 to vote again on the new constitution and later to elect a new government in a another poll. Iraqis will be required to go to the polls three times in the space of a year. But now the government is saying that rations coupons introduced by the deposed Saddam Hussein's regime to supply households with food during the decade of international sanctions could be used instead of the census. "

"Dear fellow anti-war activists, Please find below: [A] a list of events and activities at the European Social Forum and surrounding Autonomous Spaces of particular interest to anti-war / Iraq activists; [B] a list of other upcoming Iraq-related events and activities; and [C] Voices latest briefing: 'Global terrorism, human rights and democracy: Tony Blair's latest lies about the war in Iraq.' "

"The co-founder of Iraq Veterans Against the War knows firsthand why the United States' mission in Iraq is the wrong war. Corporal Mike Hoffman knows firsthand why the United States' war in Iraq is the wrong war. Deployed with his Marine Corps unit in February 2003, Hoffman fought in both Tikrit and Baghdad. Though he had his doubts about the war from the start, he saw going to Iraq as a matter of professionalism and loyalty. But it soon became clear to him that the U.S. occupation was doing more harm than good -- to both Iraqis and Americans. "The hardest thing," he says, "is knowing what we've done to the kids there." "

"The Trade and Industry Secretary, Patricia Hewitt, has said she is very sorry that the intelligence used to justify the invasion of Iraq was wrong. Appearing on BBC One's Question Time programme on Thursday, she said she was speaking on behalf Tony Blair and the Cabinet. Ms Hewitt is the first senior member of the government to make a direct apology for the intelligence failings. Was Patricia Hewitt right to apologise? Does the apology draw a line under the debate over WMD? Should the Prime Minister apologise in person? Send us your views."

"No chemical, biological or nuclear banned weapons have been found in post-war Iraq, according to inspectors from the American-led Iraq Survey Group. The findings have further intensified the debate about the justification for going to war with Iraq. The official US report did suggested however that Saddam Hussein intended to resume production of banned weapons when he could. This report comes after US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld also cast doubt on whether there was ever a connection between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda. What are your views on the report's findings? Did Iraq pose a threat? Or was was the US and its allies wrong to go to war? Send us your comments."

"In the lead-up to the November 2 US presidential election, the number of US casualties caused by Washington's attempt to conquer Iraq is a politically sensitive issue for the Bush administration. But, try as they might, the White House warmongers can't cover up the dreadful toll that their war is taking on the US troops in Iraq. As of September 29, some 1053 US soldiers had been killed in Iraq since the US invasion in March 2003. "

"On 18 September 2004, the Daily Telegraph published extracts from a series of newly leaked documents from the Cabinet Office. The full texts of these documents were not reproduced. Unlike the Hutton or Butler reports, the full text documents provide far stronger evidence not simply of falsehood by omission, but of substantively untrue statements made consciously to press and Parliament; and of the government's explicit intention to use (and arguably abuse) the UN/weapons inspection route to provide a legal pretext for pre-decided regime change, not as a route to peaceful disarmament."

"US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has cast doubt on whether there was ever a relationship between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda. The alleged link was one of the justifications used by President Bush for the invasion of Iraq. Mr Rumsfeld was asked by a New York audience about connections between Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden. "To my knowledge, I have not seen any strong, hard evidence that links the two," he said."

"The daily problems for ordinary people in Iraq are legion and the situation is going from bad to worse. Our first week we spent with Iraqi friends in Basrah. The hospitality was incredible and we had a personal insight into the struggles of people trying to cope with daily living. Everyday our friends had to drive in their old car (1978) to fetch water. The electricity supply there was completely haphazard. They told us that just before we arrived, they had had no electricity for 9 days! Everyone is struggling. Employment in Iraq is virtually non-existent and prices are rising. The occupiers offer jobs with the security forces – or, if you are a woman, in one of their many brothels - but this puts you on the wrong ‘side’ and can be very hazardous. Crime and kidnappings are rampant and a major source of distress is the constant feeling of insecurity. Driving through Baghdad at 11pm is now like entering a ghost city."

"THOSE WHO took Ken Bigley hostage demanded the release of all the women prisoners held by occupation forces in Abu Ghraib and Umm Qasr jails. The US and British governments dismissed these demands, claiming that they held only two women prisoners in Iraq. Socialist Worker can exclusively reveal that this is a lie. A list of Iraqi prisoners seen by Socialist Worker includes at least 70 women, as well as scores of children and old men. One prisoner, Fadil Dalani, is just six years old."

"Before I begin, let me state that I am a soldier currently deployed in Iraq, I am not an armchair quarterback. Nor am I some politically idealistic and naïve young soldier, I am an old and seasoned Non-Commissioned Officer with nearly 20 years under my belt. Additionally, I am not just a soldier with a muds-eye view of the war, I am in Civil Affairs and as such, it is my job to be aware of all the events occurring in this country and specifically in my region. ... So long as there is support for the guerilla, for every one you kill two more rise up to take his place. More importantly, when your tools for killing him are precision guided munitions, raids and other acts that create casualties among the innocent populace, you raise the support for the guerillas and undermine the support for yourself. (A 500-pound precision bomb has a casualty-producing radius of 400 meters minimum; do the math.)"

"Being a foreign correspondent in Baghdad these days is like being under virtual house arrest. Forget about the reasons that lured me to this job: a chance to see the world, explore the exotic, meet new people in far away lands, discover their ways and tell stories that could make a difference. Little by little, day-by-day, being based in Iraq has defied all those reasons. I am house bound. I leave when I have a very good reason to and a scheduled interview. I avoid going to people’s homes and never walk in the streets. I can’t go grocery shopping any more, can’t eat in restaurants, can’t strike a conversation with strangers, can’t look for stories, can’t drive in any thing but a full armored car, can’t go to scenes of breaking news stories, can’t be stuck in traffic, can’t speak English outside, can’t take a road trip, can’t say I’m an American, can’t linger at checkpoints, can’t be curious about what people are saying, doing, feeling. And can’t and can’t..."

"When former Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) administrator L. Paul Bremer III left Baghdad after the so-called "transfer of sovereignty" in June 2004, he left behind the 100 orders he enacted as chief of the occupation authority in Iraq. Among them is Order 81 on "Patent, Industrial Design, Undisclosed Information, Integrated Circuits and Plant Variety." [1] This order amends Iraq's original patent law of 1970 and unless and until it is revised or repealed by a new Iraqi government, it now has the status and force of a binding law. [2] With important implications for farmers and the future of agriculture in Iraq, this order is yet another important component in the United States' attempts to radically transform Iraq's economy."

"PRIME Minister Tony Blair lied to the nation over the Iraq war, Wiltshire MP James Gray has claimed. In his most scathing attack on the Prime Minister, Mr Gray, who voted for the war, said he had been tricked by a deceitful Mr Blair. The North Wiltshire MP said: "I very much regret that I supported the decision to go to war. I wish I had rebelled. "It is obvious Blair lied to the nation in regards to weapons of mass destruction. There were no weapons, there was no link between al-Qaeda and Iraq or Iraq and 9/11."

"As I write this US Army combat deaths have reached 1054 in Iraq. A further 138 "coalition" troops and at least 45 western mercenaries have also been killed. The casualty numbers are rising at a current average of 2.12 per day. ... .. The overall picture is therefore rather bleak for the American armed forces. Combat casualty rates would probably be acceptable to the General Staff if the political and military situation was improving. But it is not. They are suffering high rates of mental illness, suicide and desertion. Morale is very low and recruitment is suffering. There seems no realistic prospect of shifting the burden of fighting to Iraqi or other allies."

" "Before the vicious American occupation, I never heard that a foreigner was kidnapped in Iraq. It is against our values to kidnap a foreign visitor but hostage-taking has been fuelled by the misbehaviour of American troops in our country," one Iraqi told Al-Ahram Weekly. "I think some of those who are taken hostages deserve punishment because they collaborate with the occupiers while those who don't, like those who work in electricity and humanitarian projects, should be freed," another said. The Association of Muslim Scholars, an influential organisation that represents the Sunni Muslims in Iraq who are mostly blamed for resisting the US-led occupation, has condemned the hostage-taking, but it said it cannot do anything to stop it. Most of the militant groups are Sunni."

"The father of a Welsh soldier who died in Iraq said his protest outside the Labour conference was to force Tony Blair to talk about his son's death. Reg Keys, from north Wales, climbed on to a pylon on Brighton seafront and put a noose around his neck. He said he had no intention to kill himself, as the noose was meant to stop someone from pulling him down. His son, Lance Corporal Thomas Keys, 20, was one of six Red Caps killed last year by a mob of more than 400 Iraqis."

"BRITISH troops should not be pulled out of Iraq as a panic measure, South Swindon MP Julia Drown has urged. She said: "In terms of should the troops be pulled out early, everybody thinks it would be good to get them out as soon as possible. But that does not mean we should abandon the people of Iraq, who are benefiting from the presence and the work of our forces. We want to get to a point ­ as soon as possible ­ to have more security and enough stability for democratic elections in Iraq. That would provide the basis for a better future. Once that is done, all foreign forces can be reduced and pulled out." "

"Fearing a sharp decline in recruiting and troop retention, the Army is considering cutting the length of its 12-month combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, senior Army officials say. The prospect of lengthy combat tours already appears to be affecting recruitment. For example, the Guard had set a goal of 56,000 recruits for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, but is likely to end up with about 51,000, he said. It would be the first time since 1994 that the Guard had missed its sign- up goal."

"Sometimes an individual human tragedy can make an immediate connection that cuts through the big political stories of war and political intrigue. Suddenly Iraq is not so far away when a British engineer, a 62 year old family man and former pub landlord is kidnapped and threatened with brutal and public murder. We can all imagine the horror, fear and disgust felt by Kenneth Bigley's family, and every one of us will feel solidarity with their suffering. ... Of course there is also a certain racism behind the reporting of the Kenneth Bigley story. British Civil engineers do not belong to the "torturable classes". Part of the horror is that this is happening to a British man, someone who has taken up the "white man's burden". There has been no report in the British press of the 3 Iraqi Kurds beheaded last week for collaborating, or the 18 soldiers from the collaborationist Iraqi army that have been captured by the resistance. The experience of resurgent imperialism in Iraq brings in its train the dark prejudices of Britain's sordid past: We don't need to worry about the suffering of these "lesser breeds", as Kipling put it, the "fluttered folk and wild, ... half devil and half child" "

"This small essay by Samir Haddad and Mazin Ghazi in Al Zawra (Baghdad), September 19, 2004 provide a portrait of the different resistance groups operating in Iraq. I cannot vouch for its accuracy, but it is an interesting addition to the information normally available to us in the UK. What it shows is that the resistance movement is happily organized in many distinct and only partially overlapping networks. It will not be easily uprooted."

"The issue of foreign hostages in Iraq was examined this week on the most heated discussion programme on the Middle East's most-watched television station, al-Jazeera. In the programme The Opposite Direction a fiercely anti-American political analyst, Talat Rumayh, faced off against an Iraqi politician, Karim Badr. In the Arab media the plight of Iraqis and Palestinians overshadows that of the hostages Mr Rumayh claimed that the kidnappers were Iraqi resistance fighters and compared the number of their victims to the thousands of Iraqis, who had been killed: "Two thousand people have been killed since the beginning of the attack on Falluja, which was dismissed in one report, one line or just a couple of words... while we keep hearing about the hostages. It's the hostages and the terrorists, always the terrorists," he said. "

"The confusion over the release of the prisoners "reinforces the idea that the Americans are in control," said Judith Yaphe, a former CIA analyst who specializes on Iraq at the National Defense University. "It's a win for the critics of the Iraqi government." A commission has been reviewing the status of all 84 prisoners held by the United States to decide whether any should be released, according to American and Iraqi officials."

"More than 1,000 US soldiers have been killed since the invasion of Iraq in March 2003. Other coalition allies are mourning dozens of their own fighting men and women. There is no official record of how many Iraqi civilians have died. Thousands of Iraqi civilians have also died as a result of conflict and its bloody aftermath - but officially, no one has any idea how many. Human rights groups say the occupying powers have failed in a duty to catalogue the deaths, giving the impression that ordinary Iraqis' lives are worth less than those of soldiers."

"Americans Jack Hensley and Eugene Armstrong as well as Briton Kenneth Bigley are the latest in a series of foreigners to be abducted in Iraq. Like others before them, they are being threatened with execution unless the demands of their kidnappers are met. Some abductions are carried out by criminal gangs in an attempt to extract lucrative ransoms. Others are designed to increase pressure on the US and its allies - and the companies which carry out reconstruction work on their behalf - to pull out of Iraq. At least five other Westerners are currently being held hostage in Iraq, including an Iraqi-American man, two female Italian aid workers and two French journalists. How should foreign governments and private firms involved in Iraq respond to this spate of kidnappings? Is their first duty the safety of their people? Or is there a wider responsibility to stand firm in the face of brutality and blackmail?"

"Interview with a Conscientiously Objecting soldier who says he will not return for a second tour of duty in Iraq"
A very open and harrowing account of one US soldier's experiences in Iraq

"The acute difficulties in Iraq are highlighted in the National Intelligence Estimate, drawn up in July and representing the distilled wisdom of the entire US intelligence community. It sketches out three scenarios for Iraq. The grimmest is a descent into civil war; the second is understood to be a continuation of the current disorder. Even the most favourable of the three holds out no better prospect than a precarious stability, under constant threat."

"Illegal war leads to brutal occupation / Breaking news... / Tal Afar under siege / Big offensive planned after US election / Northern pipeline blown up / Reconstruction short-changed again / Report damns occupiers’ record / Torture in Mosul / “We have no business being over there” / Salvadorans oppose Iraq deployment / Free our friends! / Belmarsh-Guantanamo-Abu Ghraib: axis of evil, access to torture / More than 10,000 Iraqis killed in Baghdad region alone / “There is no greater shame than to see your country occupied” / Sunday 5 December: Iraq Occupation Focus Day conference, central London"

"Colonel Tim Collins, the British commander whose stirring speech to his troops on the eve of the Iraq invasion was reportedly hung on a wall in the Oval Office by George Bush, has criticised the British and US governments over the war. The officer, who has now left the Army, condemned the lack of planning for the aftermath of the conflict and questioned the motives for attacking Iraq. He said abuses against Iraqi civilians were partly the result of "leaders of a country, leaders of an alliance" constantly referring to them as the "enemy ... rather than treating them as people". "

"A British Army officer who won praise for a rousing speech to troops in Iraq has accused the US and UK of failing to plan for after the war. Colonel Tim Collins, who has now left the Army, said they should have given more thought to what would happen after Saddam Hussein was deposed."

"The United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has told the BBC the US-led invasion of Iraq was an illegal act that contravened the UN charter. He said the decision to take action in Iraq should have been made by the Security Council, not unilaterally."

"Today, Torretta's life is in danger, along with the lives of her fellow Italian aid worker Simona Pari, and their Iraqi colleagues Raad Ali Abdul Azziz and Mahnouz Bassam. Eight days ago, the four were snatched at gunpoint from their home/office in Baghdad and have not been heard from since. In the absence of direct communication from their abductors, political controversy swirls round the incident. Proponents of the war are using it to paint peaceniks as naive, blithely supporting a resistance that answers international solidarity with kidnappings and beheadings. Meanwhile, a growing number of Islamic leaders are hinting that the raid on A Bridge to Baghdad was not the work of mujahideen, but of foreign intelligence agencies out to discredit the resistance."

"Today in Iraq, there is a huge gap between the "haves" & "have nots". This account describes what poverty stricken families have to endure; and also the "middle" well off. The middle well off have jobs and lack some of the disadvantages of the poorer people. Although, they have all suffered and continue to suffer. Helen visits slum areas and then a well to do, public park. ... The widening gap between rich and poor is growing at an alarming rate. I think everyone should be able to afford to take their children to the park, I don't think that anyone should need a Mercedes. Things need to equal out a lot here and they need to equal out now. But there seems to be no reason for this widening gap to cease growing in a country with so many other problems to deal with."

"In the three years since the attacks on America, domestic security has become a primary concern throughout the world. The most recent attack occurred this week. It is thought a suicide car bombing is responsible for the devastation at the Australian embassy in Jakarta. President Putin has described Beslan as Russia's 9/11. In response to the attacks a Russian General has said the country is prepared to launch pre-emptive strikes on terrorist training bases anywhere in the world. US President George W Bush pledged at the recent Republican Party convention in New York "to build a safer world". However some critics have said that US policies have made the global community more vulnerable. Has the world become less safe since the attacks on America? Is the threat of international terrorism growing? Is the so called war on terror being won? Do you feel threatened where you live?

including: The point of terrorism is to sow fear. We are attacked and so we are afraid. The government keep telling us there's a huge risk of us being attacked again, so we are more afraid. We allow legislation to be passed that restricts our freedom and denies human rights because we are afraid. Terrorism has always been a risk but it's only since the war on terror was declared that we have allowed the terrorists to change our way of life. Who looks like they're winning here?"

"Mithal al-Alousi, a top aide to Iraqi National Congress leader, Ahmed Chalabi, has just turned up in Israel, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, attending a conference on terrorism at the Herzliya Interdisciplinary Centre. Rather implausibly al-Alousi claims that his boss, Chalabi, did not know about the trip to Israel, but he says Chalabi supports contacts with Israel"

"Sunday's bloody events on Baghdad's Haifa Street came amid some of the fiercest fighting for months in the centre of the Iraqi capital. But though they were captured by television cameras, two very different accounts have emerged about what happened. At least 13 people were killed and about 60 others were wounded by US helicopter fire as they milled around the burning wreckage of an American armoured vehicle that had been ambushed by insurgents early in the morning."

"I am a journalist. I'm dying, I'm dying," screamed Mazen al-Tumeizi, a correspondent for the Arabic television channel al-Arabiya, after shrapnel from a rocket fired by an American helicopter interrupted his live broadcast and slammed into his back. He was the sixth Arab journalist to be killed by American troops since Baghdad was captured last year. The videotape of his last moments shows how Mr Tumeizi was killed during a live television broadcast, with the Bradley blazing in the distance and a crowd of young men celebrating its destruction, but it shows no reason why the helicopters should open fire. "

"So while the rest of the World's media concentrates on New York, spare a thought for the ordinary Iraqi. No accurate are kept of those who have died - if you die, then you are gone. Unemployment still stands at 70% and incidentally employment agencies are taking the best workers abroad. Street crime is still totally out of control. The military security situation is still worsening and as a result numerous parts of Bagdad are under curfew. Not only Sadr city, but also Zarfarania, Beladyat and Al Quanat. We report these because we know people that live there, there quite possibly are others. To sum up: there is still no security, jobs, reliable electric and water, bombs and bullets still kill people and you may not be able to go out at night. To date, so much for liberation!"

"For four days, a parade of flag-waving Republicans celebrated war inside Madison Square Garden--with wall-to-wall media coverage, a 30-foot high video screen and 10,000 police to provide "security." But a dozen blocks away in Union Square, U.S. soldiers and veterans, along with family members, took to a makeshift podium on the last day of the convention to denounce Bush's war on Iraq, expose the callous treatment of veterans--and voice their anger at the loss of life in Iraq."

"The story of Sajidah, a 23-year-old bride, has run recently on the front page of the newspaper Al-Moatamar. She was abducted with her sister-in-law, 17-year-old Hanan, three days after her wedding in Mahmoudiyah, 25 kilometres south of Baghdad. The two women were taken by force, on forged passports, to Yemen via Syria. There, they discovered that they are among 130 young Iraqi women who have been abducted by a prostitution gang. The two women succeeded in contacting their family, who came and saved them. This crime sent shock waves through an already traumatised Iraq. "

"Helen visits Al-Nahrwan, 30 km from Baghdad. Here she visits a rudimentary clinic. Operations are as little as $3. There is, however, no safety net if things go wrong. There is no anaesthetic, just Diazapam. The procedures were carried out professionally, with what little facilities were available. However it simply isn't acceptable that Iraqis should have this as a medical service."

"An Appeal for the Release the Italian and Iraqi Aid Workers Abducted in Baghdad: THEY ARE NOT INSTRUMENTS OF THE OCCUPYING FORCES

We are individuals and organizations from around the world who opposed and continue to oppose the occupation of Iraq and we plead for the release of two Italian and two Iraqi humanitarian workers who were abducted in Iraq last September 7, 2004.

Simona Pari and Simona Torretta, both Italians, and Ra¹ad Ali Abdul Azziz and Mahnoaz Bassam, both Iraqis, are members of Un Ponter Per Baghdad (Bridges to Baghdad) an independent Italian humanitarian organization that has been working in Iraq since 1992. During the embargo, other humanitarian organizations refused to operate in Iraq, Bridges defied that in the belief that the suffering of civilians should not be used as a political bargaining chip."

"The American military death toll in Iraq has reached 1,000 since March 2003 when US forces invaded, the Pentagon says. The stark milestone follows a recent surge in fighting and attacks, with more than a dozen US soldiers killed in the last two days alone. Correspondents say the casualty figures re-open the debate over President Bush's decision to go to war in Iraq, ahead of the November election."

Zaid Al-Ali* embarks on a different course in life after a visit to his native Iraq. The writer is an attorney at the New York Bar, currently practicing international arbitration law in Paris
"It was just as people around the world started believing that the situation was improving, and just as they had started shifting their attention to other matters that I travelled to Iraq -- my parents' native country -- for only the second time in my life. Despite everything that I had heard from Iraqi and American governmental officials about the situation there, despite all that I read about the changes that the country has gone through since last year, I was not prepared for what I saw."

"IRAQ: THE KILLING CONTINUES. Recent events have confirmed the analysis in the latter. Last week Associated Press reported the commander of the US Army's 1st Cavalry Division, Maj. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, as stating that 'The fight with renegade Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is not over and the U.S. military must retake his stronghold in Baghdad's Sadr City slum', a 'job' which he claimed would take 'a matter of weeks' (AP, 2 September). "Sadr City is not Najaf," Chiarelli told the wire agency. "You have a totally different set of parameters in Sadr City," he explained, since there are 'no ultra-sensitive Muslim holy places to get in the way.' Today's today's New York Times reports that '33 Iraqis have been killed and 193 injured' in fighting in Iraq's impoverished Sadr City slum in the past 24 hours (for more information and background see the recent entries to the Voices weblog: http://www.voices.netuxo.co.uk/weblog/blogger.html...

PROTESTS IN NEW YORK. The past week has also seen incredible levels of protest and resistance outside (and inside!) the Republican National Convention, where 500,000 people marched to protest the Bush agenda - the largest demonstration ever at a US political convention - and some 1800+ people were arrested in the streets for acts of nonviolent protest, more than were arrested at the historic 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. For reports we recommend the excellent coverage on Democracy Now! (30th August - 3rd September, www.democracynow.org) and the special conference edition of New York Independent Media Centre's magazine The Indypendent (available on-line as a PDF file at http://nyc.indymedia.org/usermedia/application/11/... and in text form via http://nyc.indymedia.org/newswire/display/118447/i... These protests should inspire us but they should also be a spur to us in here in the UK. Can we raise our game this high?

9/11 ANNIVERSARY. Finally, with the third anniversary of the 9/11 attacks rapidly approaching, Justice Not Vengeance has produced two 9/11 anniversary flyers ('Are we safer' and 'Which way forward? Relatives Speak Out'). Both are ideal for stalls and events on or around the 11th September and are available to view (and download as PDF files) at http://www.voices.netuxo.co.uk/9-11%20Anniversary%...

Plus [A] Forthcoming Iraq-related actions and events
[B] Najaf 'truce' merely a stage in the conflict: US broke ceasefire immediately, JNV briefing 63, 30 August 2004

"How can the truth possibly come out of Iraq if the media are too scared and too weak to even attempt to search for it? Yet another bomb goes off near Welsh activists. They document what happens immediately after a bomb goes off in Baghdad."

"After only a few days back in Iraq, Welsh activist Kevin Williams is given a stark reminder of the chaos in the country. A roadside bomb explodes outside Helen William's appartment - shattering her kitchen window. Kevin comments on the opinions of the ordinary Iraqi and their feeling of despair at the state of their country. Yet they are still wonderfully hospitable and welcoming, despite no jobs, security or hope for the future."

"Iraq's leading Islamic authority, the Association of Muslim Scholars, has condemned the killing of 12 Nepalese captives. Dr Harith al-Dhari, secretary-general of the AMS, strongly condemned the execution, describing the slain captives as "simple people" who did not deserve their fate."

"My question about Gandhi and Najaf was answered rather dramatically on Thursday when Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, who had returned to Iraq from medical treatment in London, brought peace to the city by arriving in a motorcade accompanied by thousands of unarmed supporters. Sistani is such a widely respected figure that he was able to achieve, by his presence and his persuasive powers, what the Americans and the Iraqi government had failed to achieve by force of arms. It was the most Gandhi-like act we have seen in Iraq since the conflict began. Sistani has previously urged Iraqis to engage in "civil jihad", and if this is what he means by the term, good luck to him."

"In March 2002 I attended one of the regular Foreign and Commonwealth Office meetings on nuclear non-proliferation. We were told by a senior official that Iraq had reassembled its nuclear scientists and was reconstituting its nuclear weapons programme, which had been completely disbanded by UN inspectors after the 1991 Gulf War. In September 2002, Downing Street published its dossier claiming that Iraq had 'sought . . . uranium from Africa' and had imported hundreds of aluminium tubes alleged to be for use in uranium enrichment. Both claims, if true, would be signs of renewed Iraqi nuclear activity. Yet Dr Imad Khadduri, who worked in the Iraqi nuclear programme from 1968 until he left for Canada in 1998 and was involved in most major Iraqi nuclear activities in those thirty years, wrote in November 2002 in a Canadian journal that he found the 'allegations about Iraq's nuclear capability, as continuously advanced by the Americans and the British, to be ridiculous'.

Subscribers to the print edition can log in to view the entire article. For information about subscribing to the London Review of Books click here. If you do not wish to subscribe but would like information about buying the back issue containing this article (if available) click here."

"The occupation continues p 1,4 & 5. Meet the new boss p2. Iraq’s children: paying the price p2. Killing Civilians p3. Maintaining Control p6. Conscientious Objectors p7. Fairford Five p7. Detainees p8. plus new resources & details of forthcoming events, voices actions etc..." PDF format - you need the free Acrobat reader from http://www.adobe.com/ to open it.

"A peace deal to end clashes in Najaf appears to be holding, as Shia rebels leave the Iraqi city's Imam Ali mosque and US forces pull back. The deal was mediated by Iraq's top Shia leader, Ayatollah Ali Sistani, to end three weeks of fighting."

"At least 25 people have been killed and dozens injured in a suspected mortar attack on a mosque near Najaf. The main mosque and its compound in Kufa were packed with people intending to greet Iraq's top Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani who returned to Iraq on Wednesday following medical treatment in the UK. Gunmen also opened fired on Shia marchers heading to Najaf from Kufa with several casualties reported. Ayatollah Sistani is expected to announce an initiative to resolve the crisis in Najaf, where fighters loyal to radical Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr are holed up in the compound of the Imam Ali mosque, Shia Islam's holiest shrine. How important is Ayatollah Sistani in the process of democratization of Iraq? How can peace be achieved in Najaf? Is the continuing violence in Iraq threatening the country's transition to democracy? What should the new national assembly do now to restore calm and security?"

"The Mahdi Army are not terrorists or mad men. Each and every single one of them was disgusted to see the damage to our vehicles and hear about what happened to us, saying that it was wrong, so wrong. The terrorists are the men on the highway trying to blow up Red Cross vehicles and kill good people trying to help others. It has been suggested by many, and sensible people at that, that the attacks could have come from American troops - after all, they did not want us to go in and help the wounded in Nagaf, so why not try to stop us from getting there in the first place?"

"Army Spec. Juba Martino-Poole avoided trial on a manslaughter charge for fatally shooting an Iraqi prisoner, also in 2003. His punishment was the "Turn in the uniform". Another specialist accused of raping a fellow soldier in Iraq last year was discharged without being prosecuted."

"US-UK offensive leads to standoff in Najaf / Olympic bulletin: Iraqi footballers denounce occupation / Typhoid, hepatitis E rampant as sewage taints water supply / ‘Clueless’ / Occupiers can’t account for $8.8 billion of Iraqi assets / New ‘transitional council’ rigged / Free anti-occupation postcards, placards and window posters / IOF day conference on the occupation / Next IOF monthly organising meeting. se circulate widely. To make sure you automatically receive Iraq Occupation Focus Newsletters, go to our mailing list page to subscribe: http://lists.riseup.net/www/info/iraqfocus "

"Iraq's security forces, ordered to prepare for an offensive against the Mahdi Army in Najaf, have been plagued by a desertion rate that exceeded 80 percent. A U.S. report warned that Iraqi Interior Ministry troops remain unprepared to fight Shi'ite or Sunni insurgents and could not be deemed reliable. The United States was said to have spent $1.2 billion in developing Iraq's security forces, which now number around 220,000. The Iraqi units include the military, police and Interior Ministry forces. "

"The 14-year-old sister of a teenage soldier killed in Iraq made an impassioned plea yesterday to Tony Blair to withdraw British troops. In her letter, Maxine told the Prime Minister: "My big brother died at the age of 19, and what for? A war over oil and money, that's what I think the war is all about. There was no such thing as weapons of 'mass destruction'. "I think that you should withdraw all of our soldiers from Iraq. After all, it's not our war, it's America's. So why did we, the British, have to get involved?"

Read the letter in full at http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/story.js...

"American tanks have reportedly encircled the Imam Ali shrine in the Iraqi city of Najaf, after intensively bombarding rebel positions overnight. Earlier, US warplanes and tanks pounded the area for several hours. The overnight bombardment was intense, leaving a smoky haze that stretched across the night horizon. A large cloud of smoke was seen rising near the shrine, from where Sadr supporters have been fighting US and Iraqi forces for the past two weeks."

By Helen Williams from South Wales, living in Bagdad. "And did you know that the Public Security (secret service) Centre near New Bagdad was bombed - No? And did you know that yesterday, the Ministries of Oil, Sport and Youth came under attack form the Resistance - No. Over the past few days, since the church bombings, there have been many many more bombs in Bagdad. Many of them have been closer and louder than before. ... Last night, with another appartment full of visitors, another 6 or 7 mortars or rockets took off and the sirens went off again. We decided that it was a clever tactic of the Mahdi Army. There are no 'on the ground' fighters in Kerrada, so the military cannot really attack the area. By day Kerrada continues as always - you would never guess that at night the area has been used a a launchpad for attacks on the Green Zone. And the BBC is busy report that 'lawless' Sadr City is where the attacks are being launched from. Popycock!! The Mahdi Army could never hit the Green Zone from Sadr City and they would not even try - what utter rubbish! And we certainly would not hear the bangs or see plumes of smoke from here - Sadr City is around 10 kilometres away."

"At a speech in Beaverton, Ore., last Friday, Bush attached himself to the Iraqi soccer team after its opening-game upset of Portugal. "The image of the Iraqi soccer team playing in this Olympics, it's fantastic, isn't it?" Bush said. "It wouldn't have been free if the United States had not acted." Sadir, Wednesday's goal-scorer, used to be the star player for the professional soccer team in Najaf. In the city in which 20,000 fans used to fill the stadium and chant Sadir's name, U.S. and Iraqi forces have battled loyalists to rebel cleric Moktada al-Sadr for the past two weeks. Najaf lies in ruins. "I want the violence and the war to go away from the city," says Sadir, 21. "We don't wish for the presence of Americans in our country. We want them to go away." "

US-UK offensive on Iraqi cities ~ Stop The Slaughter In Najaf – Troops Out of Iraq! ~ Downing Street vigil ~ Oil workers stop supplies ~ Attempt to silence media ~ "37,000" killed by US–UK ~ 4th September – Fat Cat tour ~ War crimes in Najaf ~ The death penalty, the Danes and the Brits ~ "We secure the oil trade" ~ Useful resources ~ Justice for Iraq’s detainees ~ IOF day conference on the occupation ~ Next IOF monthly organising meeting

"US Army Gen Tommy Franks, who led the US invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq until his retirement in July last year , said both the Afghan and Iraqi governments would need three to five years to build an administrative structure. Gen Franks says that the CIA's regional station in Islamabad had identified Mr Karzai as future leader of Afghanistan long before the Sept 11, 2001, attacks in the United States. "

This debate focuses mainly on Moqtada al Sadr - patriot and freedom fighter or terrorist and thug? "The Iraqi government negotiator has confirmed that talks to disarm militants in the Shia holy city of Najaf have broken down. Mouwaffaq al-Rubaie said he was going to leave the city, where fighters loyal to radical cleric Moqtada Sadr have been resisting US-led forces. Mr Rubaie said the government would resume military operations against the militants thus ending the uneasy truce. A spokesman for Moqtada Sadr has blamed the Iraqi prime minister for the talks' failure. What is your reaction to the violence in Najaf and other cities across Shia Iraq? Have you witnessed the fighting?"

By Andy Newman, secretary of Swindon Stop the War Coalition. "A fascinating development is revealed in a report by Erich Marquardt http://www.pinr.com/ of strike action in support of the military resistance. … The war is not yet a catastrophe for the Pentagon, but if Iraqi workers do indeed start using the strikes against the occupation then the prospect of a victory for the resistance becomes more tangible."

"Shu'aib's 9 year old son, Mustafa and his 7 year old son, Ali, were at the base doing this on 8 August 2003. Although the site had been cleared of unexploded cluster bombs, one remained. Mustafa found it and picked it up. As he held it, it exploded in his hands with a huge blast. Poor little Mustafa lost 6 fingers on both hands and the sight in his left eye."

"At least 30 people have been killed and 219 wounded in clashes in the past 24 hours between US occupation forces and Shia fighters in Iraqi cities, not including Najaf where fierce fighting is going on. The figures were provided by the Health Ministry in Baghdad on Wednesday."

"The head of Iraq's nuclear programme under Saddam Hussein has said Iraq destroyed its nuclear weapons programme in 1991 and never restarted it. Jafar Dhia Jafar told the BBC sanctions and inspections worked in stopping the reconstitution of the programme. He also said Iraq's chemical and biological weapons programmes were destroyed after the first Gulf War and never reactivated. Mr Jafar ran Iraq's nuclear programme for nearly 25 years."

"When news breaks of a British casualty in Iraq, the families of the troops serving there face an agonising wait for information. Some parents of soldiers in Basra have told BBC News Online what it is like to have to watch - and wait - for more news."

"And now all the public justifications for war in Iraq are gone. They have been exposed as lies. The justifications for war have been continually revised as required. Now the only one left is the one Blair explicitly rejected before the war, namely regime change (and that violates international war). The anti-war movement has been vindicated. When the BBC made a small mistake, Greg Dyke and Gavyn Davies had to leave. When the government makes a "mistake," resulting in the invasion of another country, then no one is to blame. All we are left with is Blair, a w?nker of mass destruction. He has waged numerous wars. Since September 11th, his wars have killed over four times the numbers of civilians killed in the Twin Towers. He dragged us into invading Iraq and he remains in office, shrugging off protest marches and election protests as irrelevances."

"BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's interim government ordered Qatar-based Al Jazeera satellite television network to close its Baghdad office for one month on Saturday, a move criticized as unjustifiable by the channel. Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, confirming the decision at a news conference, said a commission had been monitoring Al Jazeera for the past four weeks to see whether it was inciting violence and hatred, and that the decision had been taken "to protect the people of Iraq." "It's regrettable and we believe it's not justifiable," Al Jazeera spokesman Jihad Ballout said. "This latest decision runs contrary to all the promises made by Iraqi authorities concerning freedom of expression and freedom of the press.""

"A funny thing happened after the United States transferred sovereignty over Iraq. On the ground, things didn't change, except for the worse. But as Matthew Yglesias of The American Prospect puts it, the cosmetic change in regime had the effect of "Afghanizing" the media coverage of Iraq. He's referring to the way news coverage of Afghanistan dropped off sharply after the initial military defeat of the Taliban. A nation we had gone to war to liberate and had promised to secure and rebuild - a promise largely broken - once again became a small, faraway country of which we knew nothing." Originally published at http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/06/opinion/06krugma...

"So it seemed everyone was here before the Americans. Then they came, gun ho, rude and unpleasant as always. I heard one of them telling the bystanders to "get the f**k out of here" as we were moving back up the road. I told him off - he said there was not time to talk. I told him I would be listening out and there was no need for his coarse language and he calmed down a bit. The next thing they did was throw razor wire across the road and then stop the fire engines and ambulances in the middle of all the by-standers and check it for bombs!! They are incredible.

I don't know why this happened, why Christians would be targetted like this, or who is behind this. But I do know that if it was an attempt to divide the communities in Iraq, it will not work. In Kerrada, where I live, Christians and Muslims live next door to one another.They are friends, use each others' shops and services and live together in peace and harmony. Tragedies/crimes like this only serve to pull the communities together as Muslims ask their Christian neighbours of their's and their familiy's well being and help them with genuine concern."

"Welsh Activist, Helen Williams, based in Baghdad, reports on a family's personal tragedy. Their father, Ahssan Abdul Aziz, is killed by American troops. A friend of the family - Helen can vouch for his innocence. The authorities will not even take the name of the deceased. This is a very moving account."

"Think of the numbers. Iraq's oil pipelines stretch for 5,418 kilometres through the desert. There's another 1,739 kilometres of gas lines, and 1,343 kilometres for refined fuels. 8,500 kilometres in all. Most of it lies on the surface, exposed, rusting, and ripe for attack. In addition, there are hundreds of storage tanks, refineries and pumping stations. The oil pipelines alone carry 2.2 million barrels a day out of the country. Thieves have punctured the lines to smuggle oil; protesters have set explosives to draw attention to their complaints; and militants have attacked the national economy to undermine the interim Iraqi government. But it all pales into insignificance alongside one attack that very nearly destroyed the single most important piece of infrastructure in the country: one of the two off-shore oil terminals that together account for about 80% of Iraq's oil exports. "

Violence spirals in occupied Iraq / Iraq’s ‘National Conference’ postponed / ‘Democracy’ in Najaf? / Slogan banned in Boston / Iraq Occupation Focus public meeting / Kidnapping wave / US casualties mount in July / Wolfowitz is even dirtier / Sunni leaders press insurgents to fight US forces, not Iraqis / Allawi attacks media freedom / Saddam’s secret police rebuild their network / Paying the Price: The Mounting Costs of the Iraq War / Unemployment at 70% / Occupiers fail audits / The Assassination of Iraqi Intellectuals / Discussion: Elections

"A decorated Army sergeant charged with stealing a sport utility vehicle at gunpoint in Iraq last year testified on Wednesday in his court-martial that he had seized the vehicle for purely military purposes. The family of the soldier, First Sgt. James H. Williams, said he was being made a scapegoat to appease Iraqis angry with the American military presence in their country. Sergeant Williams, in an engineering battalion of the 101st Airborne Division, faces more than 15 years in prison if convicted on charges that he illegally confiscated a 2001 Toyota Land Cruiser in April 2003 from the son of a tribal leader in Mosul and that he was derelict for failing to stop soldiers in his platoon from drinking alcohol in Iraq."

"US and Iraqi officials have given a cautious welcome to a Saudi proposal for a new military force drawn exclusively from Muslim countries. But the BBC's Jill McGivering in the Saudi city of Jeddah - where the senior officials are holding talks - says there are major differences between the US and Saudi visions of the force. The US wants it to be within the framework of the coalition efforts it leads, and the Saudis want it to be distinct, in order to be acceptable to public opinion in the Muslim world."

"The new Iraqi administration is struggling to come to terms with the country's past as de-Baathification becomes re-Baathification"

"The High Court review into the government's decision not to hold an independent inquiry into the alleged killing of Iraqis by British troops could spell changes for the UK military. The stakes could hardly be higher, both for the British military and the government."

"Under the headline "3 million Iraqis under militia rule", the July 17 Houston Chronicle reported that rebel Iraqi Shiite leader Sayed Moqtada al Sadr’s Madhi Army has taken control of Baghdad’s largest neighbourhood in defiance of demands by US officials and their puppet Interim Government of Iraq (IGI) that the militia group disband. Sadr’s office in the huge slum neighbourhood, the Chronicle reported, rather than the beleaguered police station, is often the first stop for Sadr City residents who want to report a crime in this teeming slum of 3 million... Most residents interviewed said the Mahdi Army - named after the Shiite Muslim messiah - doesn’t need to carry weapons anymore because it’s in charge."

"Oil and the dollar were the real reasons for the attack on Iraq, with WMD as the public reason now exposed as woefully inadequate. Should we now look at Bush and Blair as brilliant strategists whose actions will improve the security of our oil supplies, or as international conmen? Should we support them if they sweep into Iran and perhaps Saudi Arabia, or should there be a regime change in the UK and US instead?"

"At least 68 people have been killed in a car bomb explosion outside a police station in Iraq, exactly one month after the transfer of sovereignty. Witnesses said a suicide bomber drove a car into a crowded market area, as men queued to join the police. Dozens of people were also injured in the morning attack in Baquba, 65km (40 miles) north-east of Baghdad. More than 160 Iraqis have been killed in attacks since the interim Iraqi government took power on 28 June."

"Downing Street has said it played no part in the ousting of a top intelligence official who criticised Tony Blair's Iraqi arms claims. John Morrison said Whitehall gave a "collective raspberry" to the prime minister's claim Saddam Hussein posed a "serious and current threat" to the UK. His contract as chief investigator to the Intelligence and Security Committee is not being renewed. "

"The ICDC were busy spraying over Mahdi Army graffitti and posters in the street, while the American soldiers were looking for willing Iraqis to take their goodies. They were not having much success, I am happy to say. But what incensed me so much about this sight were the 2 film cameramen soldiers with them making a video of soldiers 'being nice' to Iraqis, 'hearts and minds' and all that. This film is, no doubt, intended for Western media channels to show how 'nice' the soldiers are to the local population (instead of the murdering, abusive, arrogant brutes we know many of them to be) and to show how much the Iraqis still love them - Ha Ha!!"

"Interview with Celeste Zappala, Mother of Army Sgt. Sherwood R. Baker, the first Pennsylvania National Guardsman to have died in the war in Iraq. He was the 720th soldier killed in Iraq, and the first Pennsylvania Guardsman to die since 1945." Failure of press to report servicemen's families' concerns about the war, rationing of water to troops due to contractual disputes with Kellog Root & Brown, funerals every day, and more...

"Iraq's promised democracy is deferred while interim premier Allawi acts to defeat 'the forces of evil', writes Salah Hemeid. Insurgents have vowed to fight Allawi's government and force the US-led international forces to leave Iraq. Over the past 15 months, militants have used kidnappings, car bombs, sabotage and other attacks to try and destabilise the country and push out coalition troops. Some 3,000 Iraqis have been killed in such attacks."

"First, calling a country cowardly for removing their troops from an illegal war and occupation is bad enough, but whats worse seems to be the western daily press's rather wierd approach to animal welfare. So the Phillipions eat dogs....right. And the western Daily press apparantly revealed this shocking news to the world (apart from the fact that the practice of eating dogs is quite common in many asian countries). Am i alone though in thinking tying soldiers leaving a country to the practice of eating dogs, one of the worst cases of hate mongering, illogical journalism our beloved local rags have done for some time"

A full list of occupation soldiers in Iraq, and which contries they come from.

"More than 30 countries have contributed troops to the multinational forces in Iraq. The US is overwhelmingly the biggest foreign contributor, followed by the UK, Italy and Poland. Numbers fluctuate as troops are rotated in and out of the country. On 19 July 2004 there were about 133,000 foreign troops in Iraq, of whom about 112,000 were American. Any major engagement with insurgents is run by US forces, except in the south-east, where British forces take the lead."

"Since the beginning of June, there have been six major attacks against Iraqi military bases and police stations, killing at least 168 people. the security services offer a guaranteed income in an economic situation which shows little signs of immediate improvement. Coalition figures say there are about 90,000 registered policemen, 40,000 national guardsmen and about 4,000 in the Iraqi army - but the number registered may not reflect the number who actually come into work. Many I have spoken to have said a regular income forced them to take the risk, but the threat of attacks has made them re-consider."

Iraq Occupation Focus public meeting / Since the "handover"... / Insurgents hit oil supplies / Allawi executed prisoners / Reconstruction? / Interim government seizes draconian powers / Child detainees abused / Iraq: ‘Broad alliance of anti-occupation organisations’ / Iraq War Fat Cat Tour

"Crucial doubts about Iraq's ability to produce chemical weapons were withheld from two inquiries which examined the Government's case for war. Lord Hutton's investigation into the death of David Kelly and Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee, which monitors the intelligence services, were not told that information which helped Tony Blair claim that Saddam Hussein posed a "serious and current" threat had already been discredited and withdrawn by MI6."

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"Iraqis are not focused on whether things would be better had the invasion not happened. What they want to know is how and when the manifestly unsafe world they face every day - from kidnappings to assassinations and car bombs - is going to change. They also constantly argue whether the presence of foreign forces makes it better or worse. To seek an answer from a rarely reported Baghdad source, I went this week to the northern suburb of Kadhimiya. Off a lane where market traders push rickety handcarts towards the bazaar, steps lead into the courtyard of a Shia religious school. "

"When foreign ministers of Iraq's neighbouring countries meet in Cairo next week, fear of further instability in the embattled nation will top their agenda, writes Salah Hemeid. Leaders of the newly formed Iraqi interim government have stepped up criticism of their neighbours, accusing them of doing too little to help restore security and peace in their war-torn country. They even accused some of these neighbours of facilitating or turning a blind eye to religious militants who infiltrate Iraq with the aim of launching attacks against coalition troops and the newly formed Iraqi army."

"As lobbyists, public relations counselors and confidential advisors to senior federal officials, they warned against Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, praised exiled leader Ahmad Chalabi, and argued that toppling Saddam Hussein was a matter of national security and moral duty. Now, as fighting continues in Iraq, they are collecting tens of thousands of dollars in fees for helping business clients pursue federal contracts and other financial opportunities in Iraq."

"A senior Philippines official has said his troops will leave Iraq "as soon as possible", as a deadline nears for the beheading of a Filipino hostage. Militants holding Angelo de la Cruz say they will kill him if the Philippines does not speed up a planned withdrawal. Manila's forces are due to leave by 20 August, but the militants have demanded their departure by 20 July."

"Tony Blair's war case has suffered a fresh blow after MI6 took the rare step of withdrawing intelligence about Iraq's WMD, the BBC has learned."

Official: Iraq worse off under occupation / ‘The cause of all these problems is the Americans. We need for them to go.’ / ‘Foreign fighters’? / ‘A stubborn insurgency’ / US short-changes Iraq on 'reconstruction’ / Opposition to occupation in US military communities / US Marine speaks out: ‘I killed innocent people for our government’ / Media: Where are the anti-occupation voices? / Good news from South Korea

"The Halliburton Corporation has been pretty coy about total value of its Iraq contracts, although the Pentagon has confirmed that an initial $90m was agreed to be paid to the Corporation before the fall of Saddam Hussein. Former Halliburton boss, Vice President Dick Cheney, has denied any wrongdoing. He says that he severed contact with the corporation when he got into the White House in 2000, but a French Press Agency report claims that a leaked Pentagon e-mail confirms Dick had a hand in huge Halliburton government contracts for Iraq, whilst in office and coordinating the war effort."

"He shouldn't have been there, none of our boys should be there," said his tearful mother, Rose, who works as a cleaner. "Why don't Tony Blair and Geoff Hoon send their own families out to Iraq? My son was just a bit of meat to them, just a number. They don't care about him - all they're worried about is the next election."

This article is available in full to Independent Portfolio subscribers. Access it through BT click&buy.

"The former head of the Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad has for the first time accused the American Secretary of Defence, Donald Rumsfeld, of directly authorising Guantanamo Bay-style interrogation tactics. Brig-Gen Janis Karpinski, who commanded the 800th Military Police Brigade, which is at the centre of the Abu Ghraib prisoner-abuse scandal, said that documents yet to be released by the Pentagon would show that Mr Rumsfeld personally approved the introduction of harsher conditions of detention in Iraq." Also mirrored at http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/070504A.shtml

"Re: the so-called handover of Iraq, June 2004. And photos from today's invasion and occupation of Leeds. This week, Iraq is being handed back to the Iraqi people (ha ha ha ha!). CIRCA begs to differ…. This so called HAND-OVER of power has amused us greatly. We have rolled around on the floor in fits of laughter at such an absurdity. We at CIRCA have sent out our very own inspection teams and listened with concern to the Clown's Intelligence Committee. We are suspicious that all is not as it seems in Iraq. Our own dossier (not sexed up, but slightly fruity), reveals that: · Out of $18 billion allotted (what a lot of money!) by the US Congress for reconstruction, only $3 billion has been spent. · Our clown friend Naomi Klein in the Guardian (26/6/04) told us that out of every £ spent by those rebuilding Iraq, 25p is spent protecting them from attack, 30p spent on insuring them against death, and 20p is lost to corruption. We at CIRCA are alarmed to find out that only 25p in every £ is left for rebuilding Iraq - most of which the poorest never see. Most of the money ends up in the pockets of Western Multi Nationals. · The Iraq Interim Government is prohibited from reversing any of the laws passed by the USA since it has occupied Iraq. · We read in the Sunday Telegraph (4/1/04) that the US is creating a new secret police force for Iraq which 'the Pentagon and CIA have told the White House will allow America to maintain control over the direction of the country'. CIRCA feels it has no option but to establish the Clown Provisional Authority in Leeds. Our action is a last resort. We have no quarrel with the people of Leeds. Our purpose is to ridicule, mock, tease and undermine the rich and powerful war profiteers. We are committed to the re-construction of a world of justice, joy and jelly-babies and call on fellow motley rebels, clandestine clowns and bumbling buffoons to join us to fulfil our promise to the people. The Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army (CIRCA) announces its occupation of Leeds and the establishment of the Clown Provisional Authority. The occupation is in response to the failure of the local authorities to rid Leeds of the presence of forces believed to be connected to war, militarism and state terrorism."

IOF Factsheet on the ‘handover’ / Expose the war profiteers in central London this summer! / After the ‘handover’ / The war on your doorstep

By Andy Newman, Secretary of Swindon STW: "Handover occurs at a time when the occupation is increasing bogged down in every direction. ... ... In Iraq today it is hard to construct any foreseeable military or political outcome that would represent a victory for either side. .. ... the anti-war movement must be taken out of mothballs, and reoriented for the idea that this could be a long haul. We must build an enduring campaign that demands the British and American troops are withdrawn from Iraq, and continues to challenge the lies that legitimise the occupation. We must support the resistance, but be realistic that unless they take up social issues in Iraq they are unlikely to prevail. Furthermore we must ourselves be realistic that we are no longer marching with 2 millions, but with tens of thousands. That means we need to rethink our tactics and perhaps reopen debates about civil disobedience and direct action. That is the task that confronts us."

"Wednesday 30th June 2004 was the date originally chosen for the “handover” of power to the Iraqis. The “handover” was brought forward by two days so that the ex-CIA intelligence officer who is now Iraq’s “Prime Minister” could avoid another bloody offensive by America’s enemies. Edinburgh Stop the war Coalition held a demonstration against the continuing occupation of Iraq with a march from the US Consulate in Regent Terrace to the house of the First Minister Jack McConnell in Charlotte Square in Edinburgh’s West End." (200 word report and photos).

Statistics from the Independent on the impact of the Iraq war, in terms of deaths, money, political approval, oil production, unemplyoment and more.