5 US Troops Killed;
Turkey Bombs N. Iraq;
Iran Backs al-Maliki against Mahdi Army
Five US troops were killed in Iraq on Tuesday.
Turkey bombed northern Iraq again on Wednesday, claiming to hit at guerrillas of the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) "attempting to infiltrate Turkey from the Khakurk region of northern Iraq."
Iran's foreign minister, Manuchehr Mottaki, strongly backed Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's attack on the Mahdi Army militia on Wednesday. He said, “Weapons should be only in the hands of the Iraqi army.” The Iraqi army appears increasingly to be dominated by cadres of the Badr Corps paramilitary of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, headed by Abdul Aziz al-Hakim. The Badr Corps was trained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, and it and ISCI are key Iranian clients in Iraq. What Mottaki said therefore makes complete sense. What doesn't make sense is the Bush administration's long-term effort to misrepresent the nativist Sadr Movement and its Mahdi Army, based in Iraq's festering slums, as Iran-backed.
It is precisely the closeness of the al-Maliki government and its primary current pillar, ISCI, to Iran that has made Sunni Arab countries such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia skittish about allowing it into the Arab League system as a full diplomatic partner. The Sunni Arab states largely do not have embassies in Baghdad, and Iraqi Shiites accuse them or their populations of surreptitiously helping Iraqi Sunni Arab guerrillas.
The LAT says former sympathizers are turning on al-Qaeda because of its emphasis on suicide bombings and nihilistic tactics. Fawaz Gerges has argued that such disillusionment broke out with 9/11.
McClatchy on Gen. Petraeus's promotion to Centcom commander.
Russian t.v. argues that Petraeus has proved his mettle as a diplomat, a key criterion for his new job, and predicts he may be the next Secretary of Defense.
McClatchy reports political violence in Iraq for the midweek:
' Baghdad
- Tuesday night, clashes took place in Husseiniya neighborhood (north Baghdad) between the Mahdi army and the American forces. Four people were killed and eight others were injured.
- Around 8am, a roadside bomb targeted an American patrol at Al-Butil at Zafaraniyah neighborhood (east Baghdad).Two civilians were injured with no information on the American’s side.
- Around 2 pm, a roadside bomb targeted an American patrol on the high way of Mikanik in Dora (south Baghdad). No casualties reported.
- Around noon, a roadside bomb targeted a police patrol at Nafaq Al-Shurta neighborhood (west Baghdad) .Six people were injured including two policemen.
- Around 2 pm, a roadside bomb targeted a police patrol at Qahtan intersection near Yarmouk neighborhood (west Baghdad).Three civilians were injured in that incident.
- Around 7 pm, a roadside bomb targeted a police patrol in Karrada neighborhood .Five people were injured in that incident.
- Police found 4 dead bodies in Baghdad neighborhoods today: 2 were found in Saidiyah in west south Baghdad (Karkh bank).While 2 were found in east Baghdad(Risafa bank); 1 in Ur and 1 in Ubaidi .
Salahuddin
- Tuesday night, American troops raided Baaja , Jamila and Huriya villages on the western side of Shurqat (300 km north of Baghdad) .The troops killed ( Rabia Abood Mohammad ) and arrested 25 persons with 6300 American dollars and 500 000 Iraqi dinars confiscated from Abdul Razaq Khalaf Hassan’s house.
- In the morning, An American squad raided Albu Marouf village at Al-Jazira area (25 km south west Tikrit) .One person was killed and seven others were arrested by the American squad who are from one family .Also six cars were damaged in that incident. We have no confirmation of that incident from the MNF-I at the time of this report.
- In the morning, gunmen injured the teacher Jalal Khorsheed in Hawija Bahriyah in Dhulwiya (south of Tikrit and 80 km north of Baghdad).
Mosul
- Be fore noon, a suicide bomber detonated himself inside an exchange shop .Minutes late, a car bomb exploded at Dawasa neighborhood (downtown Mosul).Two were killed and nine others were injured (including two policemen).
- Around noon, a car bomb targeted a police patrol in Mosul city .Seven people were injured in that incident including four policemen.
- Around noon, noon, a roadside bomb exploded at Al-Rashidiyah downtown Mosul city . Four people were injured in that incident.
- In the afternoon, mortars shell hit Nahrwan neighborhood (west Mosul ). Four people were injured in that incident.
Diyala
- Police and Sahwa members found four remains of dead bodies at Sansal in Muqdadiyah (north east Baquba).
Kirkuk
- Around 3pm, a roadside bomb targeted a police patrol at Al-Wasiti neighborhood in Kirkuk city. Two policemen were injured including an officer.
- The social committee in Kirkuk council buried 38 unidentified dead bodies found in different areas in Kirkuk during the last four months ago. '
Labels: Iraq
posted by Juan Cole @ 4/23/2008 10:25:00 PM
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17 Comments:
With regard to Carter's talks with Hamas, the suggestion that Iraq pay reparations to itself for the destruction wrought by the USA, and the terroristic verbal assault waged against Iran by Clinton and McCain, I think it wise to revisit some observations made by Noam Chomsky about the USA and Indochina in 1986 for I believe it answers a great many things.
"In one of his sermons on human rights, President Carter explained that we owe Vietnam no debt and have no responsibility to render it any assistance because 'the destructrion was mutual.'* If words have meaning, this must stand among the most astonishing statements in diplomatic history. What is most interesting about this statement is the reaction to it among educated Americans: null. Furthermore, the occasional reference to it, and what it means, evokes no comment and no interest. It is considered neither appalling, nor even noteworthy, and is felt to have no bearing on Carter's standing as patron saint of human rights, any more than do his actions: dedicated support for Indonesian atrocities in Timor and the successful terrorist campaign undertaken in El Salvador to destroy the popular organizations that were defended by the assassinated archbishop; a huge increase in arms flow to Israel in parallel with its 1978 invasion of Lebanon, its subsequent large-scale bombing of civilians, and its rapid expansion into the occupied territories; etc. All of this is a tribute to the successes of a system of indoctrination that has few if any peers."**
Little has changed in 22 years. The products of the "system" control the government, and the response to its atrocities is the same: "null," with a few exceptions as was the case then, which are never noted by the corporate media. Those of us who monitor the "system" may be shocked at times, but we aren't surprised as the pattern of behavior is longstanding: "So?"
Instead of Iraq begging its neighbors to forgo its debt, the USA should pay all of it. But for that to happen, the "system" must be gutted, and its still surviving members imprisoned for their crimes. Otherwise, there will be no end until The End.
*Footnotes found in original.
**"The United States and Indochina: Far from an Aberration". Noam Chomsky. 161. Coming to Terms: Indochina, the United States, and the War. Ed. Allen, Douglas, and Ngo Vinh Long. San Francisco, Westview Press: 1991.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/24/washington/23cnd-petraeus.html
April 23, 2008
Petraeus to Be Nominated to Lead Central Command
By DAVID STOUT
The decision to put Gen. David H. Petraeus in charge of military operations in the Mideast suggests that the Pentagon expects to keep troops in Afghanistan and Iraq for some time to come.
[What you are saying is that no matter who is elected President we will be staying in and Iraq and destroying Iraqis. Then, why should I vote?]
The idea that Clinton or Obama would retain General Petraeus is shocking and disgraceful, and fits with the Samantha Power and Colin Kahl thesis that we need to be in Iraq for years to come barring miracles.
America will be permanent imperialists at the cost of our souls and trillions of dollars and lives and limbs an d m inds.
I will vote for no one who does not make it clear we will be leaving Iraq completely and quickly, and only Clinton has done so. Obama keeps hedging. I am shocked and saddened beyond compare that you think Gen. Petraeus should be Secretary of Defense. Why not be a Republican?
Oh, I did not understand, the thought of Gen. Petreaus becoming Secretary of Defense was from an actual Russian and not an analyst named Russian. This is disgraceful.
The only way out of Iraq will be to replace Petraeus immediately to show the coming President if a Democrat means what she/he says.
Petraeus has proven his ability as W's Yes Man, as Condi did before him. So, by that logic, yes, he could be in line for Secretary of State. But first things first: his promotion to Centcom instead of Fallon has nothing to do with diplomacy (since it was Fallon who was far more committed to diplomacy) and most likely has everything to do with the imanent attack on Iran. Like Condi, Petraeus has to prove himself by giving W his war before he gets to Big Chair as his reward.
Oh, wait, I get it now Juan. What you meant when you said "diplomacy" was this:
"
Gates' decision to promote the two generals who led the U.S. troop buildup plan suggests that he wants their counterinsurgency strategy, which hinges on dealmaking with and at times employing former insurgents, to define U.S. relations in the region."
Of course, that's mere opinion, not reporting, and also, it's not diplomacy, but rather extortion. I guess you got a little confused, or maybe don't understand the English language well enough. Don't be embarrassed, Juan. Lots of professors are horrible writers. You know how insular University departments are.
So now, the US will now add Hezbollah, Hamas and the Pakistani Warlords and the Iranian Army to its payroll!? Well, as debased as our currency is, we ought to be able to afford that, sure. How we are going to pay off Hamas when we refuse to even talk to them is a mystery, but then again, I remember when we refused to talk to the insurgents in Iraq, until we suddenly started greasing their palms and they became our friends!
:)
Whatever. Petraeus is at Centcom for one reason and one reason only, and it has to do with the theme he hammered away at in front of Congress, even though it was mostly or all bull**** (though according to you, Juan, Petraeus is "responsible" while Fallon was a loose cannon): Iran, Iran, Iran.
And when we lose thousands or even tens of thousands of our fellow citizens in this insane military project of attackin Iran, I wonder how you, Juan, and your fellow "progressive" pundits will live with yourselves, with the fact that you consistently played down this administration's determination to widen the Iraq war to Iran?
The Persian Gulf is the perfect testing ground for the antiship missles Russia and China have been developing specifically to counter the US Navy and have been providing to Iran. This one isn't going to be a cakewalk and the American Public needs to know that, but I guess they won't.
Syria denies Bush's claimed NK reactor plan:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080424/pl_nm/korea_north_syria_dc
So Admiral Fallon gets replaced by Petraeus, the guy Fallon called an "ass kissing little suck-up". Just goes to show how the empire deals with suck-ups - it promotes them.
AJ Oliver
Emeritus
Heidelberg College
What the huh???
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/24/world/middleeast/24iraq.html
April 24, 2008
Groups With Iran's Backing Blamed for Baghdad Attacks
By STEPHEN FARRELL and ALISSA J. RUBIN
BAGHDAD — Nearly three-quarters of the attacks that kill or wound American soldiers in Baghdad are carried out by Iranian-backed Shiite groups, the United States military said Wednesday.
Senior officers in the American division that secures the capital said that 73 percent of fatal and other harmful attacks on American troops in the past year were caused by roadside bombs planted by so-called "special groups."
The American military uses that term to describe groups trained by Iran that fight alongside the Mahdi Army but do not obey the orders of the militia's figurehead, the cleric Moktada al-Sadr, to observe a cease-fire. But Col. Allen Batschelet, the Baghdad division's chief of staff, conceded that there was overlap between the groups.
"These two groups are so amorphous; they go back and forth between one another," the colonel said at a briefing in Baghdad.
"We see evidence of a guy who might be working very hard inside Jaish al-Mahdi to present himself as a mainstream, kind of compliant person," he said, using the Arabic name for the Mahdi Army, "yet we have other indicators that will show him kind of working the night job doing special group, criminal kind of stuff."
His staff said that of 114 rocket and mortar attacks that had hit the Green Zone in the past month, 82 percent were fired from Sadr City, Mr. Sadr's stronghold in east Baghdad.
Despite the attention paid to the Green Zone, though, far more missiles hit other areas during that period, his staff said, including 292 missiles that struck other American and coalition bases in the capital and 291 that hit Iraqis.
Also speaking in Baghdad on Wednesday Lt. Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, the new day-to-day commander of military forces in Iraq, attributed much of the recent violence in Sadr City to "irresponsible activity by special groups," not the Mahdi Army itself.
But he said the Sunni extremist group Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia "remains our highest security threat, because of their potential for highly damaging attacks." American intelligence says the group is homegrown but foreign-led....
It's been rumored in military circles for months that Petraeus was ging to be kicked upstairs (or sideways). The U.S. government politicians want him out of Baghdad before his so-called "successful surge" completely falls apart and he's still there holding the bag. The U.S. politicos need a hero in Iraq and Petraeus is it, so they're giving him a change in command while his reputation is intact.
Douglas Feith has been "let go" by Georgetown U. Apparently, he was insufficiently collegial.
Normally, we don't believe in kicking persons when they are down, but Feith advocates pre-emptive attacks upon those who might someday be dangerous. I propose we start kicking him.
If Petraeus = Counter-insurgency genius, then the promotion of Gen. Petraeus to CENTCOM commander does, in fact, signify that the Bush administration is determined to continue the engagement in a COIN war in both Iraq and Afghanistan - none of which, really is news.
The interesting bit here is the speculation regarding Iran, which does require a significant naval element, especially to nullify Iran's threat to upsetting the shipments of oil in the Persian Gulf. The appointment of an Admiral as CENTCOM commander was a clear signal that the Bushiites were seriously considering naval action against Iran, but it is questionable whether the Petraeus appointment seriously diminishes the naval role in that theater of operations.
As far as a war with Iran is concerned, this is becoming increasingly improbable. And regarding Iran's links to the Al-Badr Corps, I think the Bush administration might be betting on neutralizing the
most direct threat of US troops - the Jaish al-Mahdi - and then continuing to play on PM Nouri Maliki's minority status among the Iraqi Shiite's to counteract any Iranian efforts to subvert US authority in Iraq (the al-Dawa group that Maliki leads is not as strongly tied to Iran, nor as popular in Iraq as Muqtada's faction).
The long term aims of the US in Iraq remain the same as before the invasion:
1. Nullifying Iraq as a regional military threat to Israel.
2. Nullifying Iraq as a regional military threat to Gulf states.
3. Using Iraq as a lever and a base to contain Iranian influence, through various back and forth deals with Gulf-backed radical Sunni groups funded to destroy Shiite militias in the region.
4. Establish friendly grounds for Iraqi oil deals with US oil companies.
5. Establish friendly grounds for Iraq as a major market for US private sector deals in all walks of capitalist endeavors.
With a reduction in casualties, it is doubtful that any Democrat could substantially impact the US foreign policy-defense-corporate-industrial establishment in deviating from these 5 goals with an 'unnecessary' withdrawal from Iraq.
Professor Cole,
Although you have mentioned this a few times before, there seems, over the past months, to have been a notable increase in the number of women suicide bombers. What was once an oddity, and reported as such at the time, has become much more common, and suggests some kind of a sea change. I have not run across any writers who have tracked this or written to its significance, nor have I seen any major media address this change. Is this a trend, and if so what are the implications?
I would agree that sending 'King David' to Centcom is more political hackery from Bushco. This is his 'reward' for those invaluable Congressional hearings. It is the normal pattern for loyal 'team-player' weasels such as the appointment of Wolfowitz to the World Bank.
Frankly, I wish that somebody would analyze Petreaus's 'brilliant strategy'( buy the enemy) that got him that promotion: I have a feeling it was never anything but a temporary expedient.
It's quite possible that it was always a scam and Fallon was removed to make way for the favorite before his 'good news' unravelled.
Speaking of slime-balls, Robert 'that's despiscable' Gates
greeted revealations that the Pentagon was filling the MSM with
paid military stooges was a loud yawn.
"What doesn't make sense is the Bush administration's long-term effort to misrepresent the nativist Sadr Movement and its Mahdi Army, based in Iraq's festering slums, as Iran-backed."
I see why you're bothered by the misrepresentation of the Mahdi Army, but to me, the real issue seems to be that Iran is supporting and training Shia militia, who work with Sadr in many cases (according to the NYT article today).
I'm tempted to believe the Army about the "special groups" having Iranian backing only because I can see how supporting both sides in this conflict would be beneficial to Iran. This is because continued conflict would weaken the U.S., tie its hands militarily and increase Iranian influence in Iraq. I think this is in Iran's interest more so than a stable Iraq that may have some allegiance to Iran but also to the U.S., which would more likely exist if Iran didn't support shia militia groups.
So would you be content if the US stopped presenting Mahdi as Iran backed or do you also disagree that Iran is backing groups auxiliary to Sadr's?
PKK is "Kurdistan Workers' Party" and not "Kurdish Workers' Party". Let's try to be accurate with translations from other languages, OK? Some of the founding members of the PKK were Turks, not Kurds, and there are plenty of non-Kurds in the PKK's ranks today.
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