[Centraal] Irak na de oorlog - deel 35

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Imbascini said he amputated the genitals of one or two men every day.

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Bush’ denktank voorziet bloedig jaar
Washington verwacht dat president Bush volgende week de oorlog in Irak zal opvoeren: meer troepen. Gisteren gaven de geestelijke vaders van het plan hun ideeën prijs. ‘Het wordt zeer bloedig.’

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Amerika staat voor een periode van zware opofferingen, zei Kagan. „Ik adviseer de president om volgende week zo onverbloemd mogelijk te zijn. We moeten er ons op voorbereiden dat 2007 een zeer bloedig jaar wordt.”

Ook als de plannen van Kagan en Keane volledig worden overgenomen (25.000 extra troepen bovenop de 140.000 die al in Irak zijn; zie inzet) zal het leed niet zomaar geleden zijn. „Dit probleem gaat door tot in 2008 en daarna. We zullen extra reserves moeten oproepen. De plannen zijn héél duur. Ze vergen groot geduld. Amerika zal moeten wennen aan een opoffering die we lange tijd niet hebben hoeven doorstaan.”

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Op zondag 31 december 2006 14:45 schreef Hurricane1 het volgende:
Dapper Iraaks verzet vernedert amerikaans terreurleger

Vandaag officeel meer dan 3000 Amerikaanse doden, en meer dan 8.000 voor het leven verminkt.

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The Real Cost of the Iraq War: 50,000 U.S. Casualties

Death is not the only measure of loss in Iraq. What about all of the lost limbs, bloodshed and other casualties that aren't being reported?

To bring the human cost to Americans of the invasion and occupation of Iraq home, antiwar groups across the country are marking mark the 3,000th death of a member of its military components (at this writing the total is 3,004).

But by focusing only on the number of dead Americans we are being manipulated along with the media and public by the administration's determination to minimize the cost in blood of establishing permanent military bases in the heart of the Middle East oil patch.

That public relations strategy consists of prohibiting images of the dead and wounded returning home and those of U.S. casualties in Iraq in the U.S. media as well as aggressive efforts to prevent such coverage by foreign media --including deadly attacks on Al-Jazeera reporters and offices. It also plants stories and interviews, leaks to FOX and other Pentagon-friendly reporters and provides generous payola to foreign (especially Iraqi) news sources.

Still, the most consistent propaganda effort since the invasion aims to keep public attention away from the actual amount of blood being shed by American military victims of the war and their families. That cost now exceeds 50,000 casualties -- a far cry from the 3,000 to which most of the public is restricted to know.

"Casualties" in the military sense is the total number made unavailable for duty from all causes, including deaths and wounds suffered in combat as well as injuries, accidents and illness in a war "theater" such as "Operation Iraqi Freedom" (the official Pentagon name for the invasion and occupation). So whether caused by "hostile" (24,965 as of Dec.27) or "non-hostile" (25,406 as of Dec. 2) causes, the Pentagon's own web sites record a toll of more than 50,000 so far in "OIF."

However, for most Americans who depend on mass media for information, the approaching number of only 3,000 is the only measure of the loss of life and limb the media allow them to know. For the rest of us, here are the facts: The Pentagon reports deaths on a daily basis at although its own total always lags behind the wire services number because it insists survivors must be informed before a dead solider, marine, sailor or airman can be added to the casualty lists. But the Pentagon only reports the wounded on the weekly basis (usually on Tuesdays) at the same site and it reports the non fatal casualties from non hostile causes only monthly and on another website (http://siadapp.dior.whs.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/OIF-Total.pdf).

From those sources, we can count U.S. military occupation forces casualties as more than 50,371 as of Dec. 27. The total (as above) includes 2,400 killed and 22,565 wounded (which includes both severely and less severely wounded) by what the Pentagon classifies as "hostile" causes. By that date, another 583 military personnel had died from "non hostile" causes such as accidents, suicides (there were 99 "self inflicted fatalities") and illness and, as of Dec. 2, another 24,823 had been injured or become ill seriously enough to require medical evacuation. According the excellent site Iraq Coalition Casualty Count,(http://www.icasualties.org/oif/). another 147 U.S. "contractors" have also been killed since they invaded Iraq.

I urge opponents of the war to make the public aware that the actual human cost of the invasion and occupation of Iraq exceeds 50,000 troops and their families who have suffered death and often life-long disability -- of whom the 3,000 are just one tragic part.

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Future of Iraq: The spoils of war
How the West will make a killing on Iraqi oil riches
By Danny Fortson, Andrew Murray-Watson and Tim Webb
Published: 07 January 2007

Iraq's massive oil reserves, the third-largest in the world, are about to be thrown open for large-scale exploitation by Western oil companies under a controversial law which is expected to come before the Iraqi parliament within days.

The US government has been involved in drawing up the law, a draft of which has been seen by The Independent on Sunday. It would give big oil companies such as BP, Shell and Exxon 30-year contracts to extract Iraqi crude and allow the first large-scale operation of foreign oil interests in the country since the industry was nationalised in 1972.

The huge potential prizes for Western firms will give ammunition to critics who say the Iraq war was fought for oil. They point to statements such as one from Vice-President Dick Cheney, who said in 1999, while he was still chief executive of the oil services company Halliburton, that the world would need an additional 50 million barrels of oil a day by 2010. "So where is the oil going to come from?... The Middle East, with two-thirds of the world's oil and the lowest cost, is still where the prize ultimately lies," he said.

Oil industry executives and analysts say the law, which would permit Western companies to pocket up to three-quarters of profits in the early years, is the only way to get Iraq's oil industry back on its feet after years of sanctions, war and loss of expertise. But it will operate through "production-sharing agreements" (or PSAs) which are highly unusual in the Middle East, where the oil industry in Saudi Arabia and Iran, the world's two largest producers, is state controlled.

Opponents say Iraq, where oil accounts for 95 per cent of the economy, is being forced to surrender an unacceptable degree of sovereignty.

Proposing the parliamentary motion for war in 2003, Tony Blair denied the "false claim" that "we want to seize" Iraq's oil revenues. He said the money should be put into a trust fund, run by the UN, for the Iraqis, but the idea came to nothing. The same year Colin Powell, then Secretary of State, said: "It cost a great deal of money to prosecute this war. But the oil of the Iraqi people belongs to the Iraqi people; it is their wealth, it will be used for their benefit. So we did not do it for oil."

Supporters say the provision allowing oil companies to take up to 75 per cent of the profits will last until they have recouped initial drilling costs. After that, they would collect about 20 per cent of all profits, according to industry sources in Iraq. But that is twice the industry average for such deals.

Greg Muttitt, a researcher for Platform, a human rights and environmental group which monitors the oil industry, said Iraq was being asked to pay an enormous price over the next 30 years for its present instability. "They would lose out massively," he said, "because they don't have the capacity at the moment to strike a good deal."

Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister, Barham Salih, who chairs the country's oil committee, is expected to unveil the legislation as early as today. "It is a redrawing of the whole Iraqi oil industry [to] a modern standard," said Khaled Salih, spokesman for the Kurdish Regional Government, a party to the negotiations. The Iraqi government hopes to have the law on the books by March.

Several major oil companies are said to have sent teams into the country in recent months to lobby for deals ahead of the law, though the big names are considered unlikely to invest until the violence in Iraq abates.

James Paul, executive director at the Global Policy Forum, the international government watchdog, said: "It is not an exaggeration to say that the overwhelming majority of the population would be opposed to this. To do it anyway, with minimal discussion within the [Iraqi] parliament is really just pouring more oil on the fire."

Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman and a former chief economist at Shell, said it was crucial that any deal would guarantee funds for rebuilding Iraq. "It is absolutely vital that the revenue from the oil industry goes into Iraqi development and is seen to do so," he said. "Although it does make sense to collaborate with foreign investors, it is very important the terms are seen to be fair."

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Pelosi:geen blanco cheque voor Irak

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` President Bush krijgt van het Congres
geen blanco cheque meer om oorlog te
voeren in Irak.Dat heeft de nieuwe
Democratische leider van het Huis van
Afgevaardigden,Pelosi,gezegd.

De Democraten hebben de meerderheid in
het Congres en zijn erg kritisch over
de plannen van Bush om meer troepen
naar Irak te sturen.Het Congres zal
Bush flink aan de tand voelen als hij
meer geld nodig heeft om de strijd op
te voeren,zei Pelosi.

Bush komt deze week met een nieuwe
strategie voor Irak.Daarin stelt hij
nieuwe legerbevelhebbers aan.Mogelijk
stuurt hij tot 20.000 extra militairen.

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Op zondag 7 januari 2007 01:02 schreef Hurricane1 het volgende:
All over the world? Je ziet spoken jongen, de enige extremisten zijn de gene die daar soennieten proberen uit te roeien, Amerika, Iran en hun volgers. En daar zijn de gewone moslims in Irak mee begonnen, om hun uit te roeien en dat zal ook gebeuren.

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Op zondag 7 januari 2007 21:20 schreef klez het volgende:

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Dus de soennieten, Iran en Amerika moeten uitgeroeid worden. Soso

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Op zondag 7 januari 2007 21:40 schreef Slayage het volgende:

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je bedoelt sjiieten

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Op maandag 8 januari 2007 20:11 schreef klez het volgende:

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Het blijkt eigenlijk allemaal lood om oud ijzer te zijn. 650.000 Irakezen vermoord afgezet tegen drieduizend Amerikanen. Wat een sneu volk blijkt het uiteindelijk toch te zijn, of je het nu met een OE of IE schrijft...
Godsdienstwaanzin schijnt de norm te zijn in die regio.

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Op zondag 7 januari 2007 12:41 schreef Slayage het volgende:

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http://news.independent.c(...)t/article2132569.ece

komt de aap uiteindelijk uit de mauw

binnen luttele dagen saddam vernederend opgehangen en zal dus binnenkort de olieindustrie in westerse handen komen, papa bush zal trots zijn op kleintje

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Op maandag 8 januari 2007 20:31 schreef Godslasteraar het volgende:

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Ja joh, wat verwacht je nou? Je moet er toch niet aan denken dat al die olie-inkomsten in handen van de Al Sadrs van Irak komen! Het is al erg genoeg dat we van Saoedie Arabië geen zelfbedieningstankstation gemaakt hebben, laten we die fout in Irak niet herhalen. En laten we wel wezen, het ís onze olie, de enige reden dat dat spul enige waarde heeft is te danken aan het Westen. Zonder het Westen zou die olie er nu nog onaangetast in de grond zitten, en de Arabieren nog steeds op kamelen rondrijden, volstrekt onwetend van de schatten die sinds miljoenen jaren in de bodem schuilen. Dus, dat die barbaren toevallig bovenop onze olie zijn gaan wonen is niet ons probleem.

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Op maandag 8 januari 2007 20:30 schreef Slayage het volgende:

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godsdienst waanzin? zie jij echt wat nu in irak gaande is als iets godsdienstigs itt iets puur politiek?

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Op maandag 8 januari 2007 20:54 schreef klez het volgende:

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Welke politici? Elke politicus behalve een misdadiger staat machteloos tegen deze gewelddadige godsdienstwaanzinnigen.

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Op dinsdag 9 januari 2007 15:00 schreef Frutsel het volgende:
Fox Breaking News: Zojuist een vliegtuig neergestort vlakbij Bagdad, met 32 mensen aan boord, eerste berichten spreken over 30 doden, 2 overlevenden.

Geen idee wat voor toestel

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Tientallen doden bij vliegtuigcrash Bagdad

Uitgegeven: 9 januari 2007 14:32
Laatst gewijzigd: 9 januari 2007 15:19

ANKARA - Een Moldavisch vliegtuig met dertig Turkse arbeiders aan boord is dinsdag neergestort terwijl het probeerde te landen op het vliegveld van de Iraakse hoofdstad Bagdad. Zeker dertig mensen hebben de crash niet overleefd.

Dat heeft het Turkse ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken gemeld. Het toestel zou circa drie kilometer van Bagdad van de radarschermen zijn verdwenen.

Het vliegtuig van Sovjetmakelij was 's ochtends opgestegen in Adana in het zuiden van Turkije. Behalve de Turkse passagiers waren er ook vijf bemanningsleden aan boord.

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Op zondag 7 januari 2007 21:20 schreef klez het volgende:

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Dus de soennieten, Iran en Amerika moeten uitgeroeid worden. Soso
Helemaal niet extremistisch ook.
Waarom heb je Saddam niet zonder Amerikaanse hulp weggejaagd dan, als je zo'n stoere jongen bent?
Overigens: het stikt van de landen waar men problemen heeft met extremistische moslims hoor. Veel meer dan waar Amerikanen overlast veroorzaken.

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Iraqi and US forces battle gunmen in central Baghdad

Iraqi soldiers backed by US troops battled gunmen in central Baghdad today and explosions were heard in the area, police, witnesses and the US military said.

American warplanes screeched through low-hanging clouds above the Iraqi capital, and could be seen flying low over the Haifa Street area. US helicopters were circling above the area and witnesses said they had seen the aircraft firing into the combat zone.

Police said the clashes erupted when gunmen attacked Iraqi army checkpoints, and that Iraqi soldiers appealed to the US military for help. American forces sealed off roads and joined Iraqi troops in raiding houses in pursuit of the gunmen, police said.

Government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said Iraqi forces had decided to wipe out "terrorist hide-outs" in the Haifa Street area once and for all.

"God willing, Haifa Street will never threaten the Iraqi people again," he said.

The Iraqi defense ministry issued a statement saying eleven people were arrested, including seven Syrians. But the US military said only three people had been arrested.

A US military spokesman said American and Iraqi forces on Tuesday launched "targeted raids to capture multiple targets, disrupt insurgent activity and restore Iraqi Security Forces control of North Haifa Street."

"This area has been subject to insurgent activity which has repeatedly disrupted Iraqi Security Force operations in central Baghdad," Lt. Col. Scott Bleichwehl said in a statement.

Troops were receiving small arms fire, rocket-propelled grenade and indirect fire attacks during the operation, the statement said.

Haifa Street is a Sunni insurgent stronghold in the center of the Iraqi capital, just to the north of the heavily fortified Green Zone which houses the US and British Embassies, as well as many Iraqi government offices.

Fighting broke out there late Saturday, and the Iraqi army reported killing 30 militants that night — hours after Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced a new open-ended security plan to oust sectarian killers from Baghdad.

Iraqi state television said eight militants, including five Sudanese fighters, were captured Saturday near Haifa Street. Police reported finding the bodies of 27 torture victims dumped there earlier in the day.

In other violence Tuesday, a policeman was wounded when a roadside bomb hit his patrol car in downtown Baghdad, police said.

Another roadside bomb missed an Iraqi army patrol in Mosul but wounded an eight-year-old girl nearby, Iraqi Col. Eidan al-Jubouri said. Mosul is 360 kilometers north-west of Baghdad

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Op dinsdag 9 januari 2007 16:07 schreef Hurricane1 het volgende:

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Nee de soennieten moeten niet uitgeroeit worden maar Amerika en Iran ja Inderdaad ja Amerika bezet Irak en Iran bezet Irak ook met hun moordlustige Sjiietische milities die de Soennieten uit proberen te roeien, maar de Soennieten zullen alle twee die strijden winnen, en Saddam hoefte niet weg omdat hij de enige goede leider voor Irak was.

En het stikt niet van de landen met problemen hoor, die problemen maaken jullie er zelf van.

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Shia hostages hanged in streets in revenge for Saddam's execution

By Aqeel Hussein in Baghdad and Damien McElroy
Last Updated: 1:47am GMT 10/01/2007

Saddam Hussein's execution has inspired a gruesome cycle of revenge, with scores of Shia Muslims found hanged from lampposts in Baghdad.

The residents of the city's Haifa Street will long remember the events of Sunday morning. As shop owners raised their shutters and stall holders set out their stock, three minibuses roared to a halt.

Gunmen jumped out and pulled blindfolded prisoners on to the street. Ropes were tied to lampposts and electricity poles. Those hostages who resisted were shot. Others who were still alive had nooses tied around their necks and were then suspended in mid air to choke to death.
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All were left hanging, and the victims received little sympathy from those who witnessed the events.

"We watched as all these blindfolded men were hung up and some were shot in the head," Imad Atwan, a supermarket worker said.

"Altogether there were 23 bodies. We are all Sunni people here so we supported the gunmen. Some of them are the guards of our neighbourhood.

"Somebody called the police and the guards waited to shoot at them when they arrived.

"Half an hour after the police fled, they came back with the army and took the bodies away."

Capt Mohammad Salim, of the interior ministry, said: "We have gathered 102 Shia bodies and believe that 90 per cent of them were taken hostage for Saddam Hussein's execution and then found hanging from poles by ropes."

The discoveries were not limited to Haifa Street. People murdered in the same way had been found in Al Doura district and Amriya, in western Baghdad.

The interior ministry estimates that 200 Iraqis were taken hostage after Saddam was sentenced to death for ordering the murder of 148 Shia villagers in the city of Dujail after an assassination attempt in the 1980s.

"We counted the people from families that reported a phone call claiming their relatives would be killed if Saddam Hussein was hung."

With the Iraqi government poised to execute the former dictator's half-brother, Barzan al-Tikriti, and the ex-head of Baghdad's Revolutionary Court, Awad Ahmed al-Bandar, officials expect the rest of the hostages to be executed in similar fashion.

At a second trial in Baghdad yesterday, the first order of business saw Judge Mohammed al-Ureybi strike off charges against Saddam for ordering the "Anfal" extermination campaign against Kurdish villagers.

When Saddam's cousin, Ali Hassan al-Majeed – better known as "Chemical Ali" – attempted to read from the Koran in Saddam's memory, the court microphones were turned off.

The court heard a tape recording in which the prosecutor claimed "Chemical Ali" vowed to use weapons of mass destruction against civilians. "I will strike them with chemical weapons and kill them all," he said.

•Seven children are reported to have died worldwide after seeing video footage of the execution of Saddam, many in "play" hangings.

In the latest incident a boy of 12 hanged himself in north-east Saudi Arabia on Sunday, the Al-Hayat newspaper reported. His death followed similar hangings in Yemen, India, Algeria and America.