by Patrick Cockburn

TruthOut

10/05/04

The situation on the ground in Iraq is far worse than what is portrayed by the media. Ironically, this is because it is now so dangerous for journalists and television crews to leave their heavily guarded hotels in Baghdad that they cannot refute claims by the American and British governments that much of Iraq is safe. Nothing could be more untrue. I have spent most of the past year-and-a-half travelling in Iraq, and I have never known it so bad. The roads all around Baghdad are cut by insurgents. At Mahmoudiyah, just south of the capital, rebels in black masks felt confident enough last week to establish a checkpoint on the main road to Najaf. .... If an election is held in January, it will not end the fighting. If the Sunni Muslims do not take part, but the Shia and Kurds do, then Iraq will be even more divided. A great number of Iraqis also believe that you simply cannot have a free and fair election with 138,000 US troops in the country...

http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/100604K.shtml


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Here is a reminder of the human cost of the Iraq War. In the article below by Evan Derkacz, "The painful stories and pictures of some of the 16,000 American soldiers – like Cpl. Tyson Johnson – wounded in Iraq might move Americans to action. Maybe that's why we don't see them in the mainstream media." Veterans and the public have a moral duty to remember and recognize the sacrifices of our Nation's soldiers.

http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/NewsArticle.cfm?ID=2152

Take them out, dude: pilots toast hit on Iraqi 'civilians'
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=569207

The Pentagon said yesterday it was investigating cockpit video footage that shows American pilots attacking and killing a group of apparently unarmed Iraqi civilians.

The 30-second clip shows the pilot targeting the group of people in a street in the city of Fallujah and asking his mission controllers whether he should "take them out". He is told to do so and, shortly afterwards, the footage shows a huge explosion where the people were. A second voice can be heard on the clip saying: "Oh, dude."

The existence of the video, taken last April inside the cockpit of a US F-16 fighter has been known for some time, though last night's broadcast by Channel 4 News is believed to be the first time a mainstream broadcaster has shown the footage.

At no point during the exchange between the pilot and controllers does anyone ask whether the Iraqis are armed or posing a threat. Critics say it proves war crimes are being committed.


The video mentioned in the Independent article is available on multiple websites, you can see it at the following site:
http://prisonplanet.com/articles/july2004/190704liberationvideo.htm


Informant: Mark Vallen

http://207.44.245.159/article7014.htm


From Information Clearing House

http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3587653


From Information Clearing House

http://tinyurl.com/4fpe2
http://tinyurl.com/4ubsj (photo of the son)

Families of the 35 children who died in a string of bombings in Baghdad blamed American troops for the tragedy, accusing them of attracting insurgents to a ceremony where the attacks occurred. By Friday, tents had sprung up in the el-Amel neighborhood in Baghdad to accommodate mourners who gathered to share their grief from the Thursday attack. In the carnage, several explosions ripped into a crowd gathered to celebrate the inauguration of a new, much needed sewage plant. Residents said that before the start of the celebration, U.S. soldiers called upon the children through loudspeakers to join the crowd, promising them sweets. There were an unusually large number around because the long school holidays were nearing an end. "I blame the Americans for this tragedy. They wanted to make human shields out of our children. They should have kept the children away from danger," said Abdel-Hadi al-Badri, a cleric a the al-Mubashroun al-Ashra mosque, breaking down in tears during Friday prayers. Al-Badri's son lost his right leg in the explosion after he ignored his father's warnings to stay away from the U.S. troops.

http://makeashorterlink.com/?K41725079


From:
Aftermath News
Top Stories - October 4th, 2004

George W. Bush still can’t – or won’t – get his brain around some central facts that bear on his decision to invade Iraq in 2003. He falsified that history again during the Sept. 30 presidential debate.

http://www.consortiumnews.com/2004/100204.html


From Information Clearing House

Iraq: Injured Troops Pay Cut In Half:

When Marine Lance Cpl. James Crosby left Iraq, he was unconscious, strapped to a gurney, his legs paralyzed and his guts lacerated by shrapnel. That's when the military cut his pay in half.

http://207.44.245.159/article7003.htm


From Information Clearing House

Vietnam Veteran: What You Don't Know About War:

There are no politics in war. Politics is the luxury of the safe-at-home. War is a lottery of survival.

http://207.44.245.159/article6998.htm


From Information Clearing House