Iraq Progress Report: A Time to Assess and Reflect
Stephen LendmanAhead of America's generalissimo, a report on the true conditions on the ground in Iraq and a war hopelessly lost
Contents Pages by Subject
WAR: About that War
Army Too Stretched if Iraq Buildup Lasts
• APSapped by nearly six years of war, the Army has nearly exhausted its fighting force and its options if the Bush administration decides to extend the Iraq buildup beyond next spring. The Army's 38 available combat units are deployed, just retur
The War as We Saw It
• NY TimesAs responsible infantrymen and noncommissioned officers with the 82nd Airborne Division soon heading back home, we are skeptical of recent press coverage portraying the conflict as increasingly manageable and feel it has neglected the mounting civil,
Between the Two Rivers, Lack of Water Kills
• by Ali al-Fadhily (AntiWar)The collapse of Iraq's infrastructure has created a worsening water crisis that is killing untold numbers of Iraqis. Iraq, with its famous Tigris and Euphrates rivers that run the length of the country, is now unable to provide drinking water
DOD Stops Plan to Send Christian Video Game to Troops in Iraq
• ABC News"It's a horrible game," said the Rev. Timothy Simpson of the Christians Alliance for Progress. "You either kill or covert the other side. This is exactly what the Osama bin Ladens of the world have portrayed us."
U.S. general: Iraq 'surge' likely to end in spring
• McClatchy NewsThe U.S military will begin pulling out the additional troops it sent to Iraq as part of the so-called surge next spring and will have completed their withdrawal by next August, the No. 2 American commander in Iraq said.
U.S. actions against Iran raise war risk, many fear
• McClatchy NewsAs President Bush escalates the United States' confrontation with Iran across a broad front, U.S. allies in Europe and the Middle East are growing worried that the steps will achieve little, but will undercut diplomacy and increase the chances of
Texan oilman pleads guilty in oil-for-food case
• ReutersTexas oilman David Chalmers and two companies he owns pleaded guilty to paying millions of dollars in secret kickbacks to Iraq in connection with the United Nations oil-for-food program. Pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, just weeks b
Last Call for Anti-War Congressmen
• ReasonAnti-war Republican Congressman Wayne Gilchrest's (he talked to me here) re-election campaign just got harder as the Club for Growth (me on them here) goes all in for his Republican opponent.
Soldier dodges prison time for beating
• AP“Considering the fact that on Monday when we went in there he was facing over 20 years and he was charged with fracturing somebody’s skull with a ball bat. ... He was happy with the result,” Waddington said. A reprimand is a very light sentence in a
'House Bombs' a Growing Risk for U.S. Troops
• Washington PsotThe 2nd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division calls itself the "Send Me" brigade, and on Saturday, its soldiers were quick to send themselves to find the man who shot Pfc. William L. Edwards, a wide-eyed 23-year-old from Houston.
Iraqi leader announces new alliance
• APThe Iraqi prime minister and president announced a new alliance of moderate Shiites and Kurds in a push to save the crumbing government Thursday, saying a key Sunni bloc refused to join but the door remained open to them. The political pact came a
Legal actions highlight general's power
• APIn recent months, the senior Marine commander on the West Coast has dismissed charges against 3 troops implicated in the deaths of 24 Iraqis and reduced the sentences of three others in the kidnapping and murder of an Iraqi man. Lt. Gen. James Mat
Gen. Petraeus' report is actually being written by the Whitehouse
• Raw StoryAlthough President Bush has long said the report will represent the views of Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of US troops in Iraq, it is actually being prepared by the White House with input from officials throughout the government, according to
US Blames Iran for Casualties from Its Own Attacks
• by Gareth Porter (AntiWar)The obvious reason for the rise in Shi'ite-related U.S. casualties is that the Mahdi Army of Moqtada al-Sadr was defending itself against a rising tempo of attacks by U.S. forces at the same time attacks by al-Qaeda forces had fallen.
Truck bombings killed at least 500 Iraqis
• CNNThe death toll in the suicide bombings Tuesday in northern Iraq has risen to at least 500, local officials said. The attacks, targeting Kurdish villages, were attempts to "break the will" of the American people and show the US troop escalat
Despite violence drop, officers see bleak future for Iraq
• McClatchy NewsDespite U.S. claims that violence is down in the Iraqi capital, U.S. military officers are offering a bleak picture of Iraq’s future, saying they’ve yet to see any signs of reconciliation between Sunni and Shiite Muslims despite the drop in violence.
Do US, Iraqi Officials Undercount Detainees?
• Iraq SloggerAn Iraqi official who heads the government committee tasked with inspecting detention facilities announced shocking figures this weekend, estimating the number of detainees held in US and Iraqi-run prisons at 67,000. The admission sparked the Iraqi g
Steven Greenhut: Our war crimes
• Orange County RegisterWhat should be our reaction when American troops in Iraq behave in troubling ways?
Bad guys make even worse allies
• LA TimesIt was classic bureaucratic bungling in a report criticizing the Pentagon's failure to keep proper records and track weapons flows. But there may have been another factor -- the government's dangerous and bumbling use of bad guys.
Why Isn't the Press on a Suicide Watch?
• E & PYou'd never know that at least 3% of all American deaths in Iraq are due to self-inflicted wounds. And that doesn't include the many vets who have killed themselves after returning home.
US bill for Iraq private security grows
• Financial TimesTwo British companies providing security to US army engineers on reconstruction duty in Iraq were paid by the US military more than $200m more than was agreed in their original contracts, according to a report published in the US.
Britain’s frontline soldiers have 1 in 36 chance of dying on Afghan battlefield
• London TimesBritain’s frontline troops in Afghanistan are being killed at such a rate that, were it to continue, one in 36 would not survive a six-month tour of the country. In Iraq, as many as one in 100 of all service personnel could die during a six-month
U.S. Officials Worry About Potential 'Tet Offensive' in Iraq
• FOX NewsBush administration officials are concerned about a spectacular attack or series of attacks designed to coincide with the September release of a critical progress report in Iraq, a senior administration official confirmed to FOX News.
Bush to bolster Iraq troop surge as antiwar lobby gives ground
• London TimesPresident Bush plans to continue his Iraq troop surge well into next year after a string of positive reports left Democrats increasingly powerless to end the war.
U.S. military starts new Iraq offensive
• APSingled out Sunni insurgents linked to al-Qaida in Iraq and said the Shiite extremists were being backed by Iran. The military accused Tehran of supplying militias with arms and training to attack U.S. forces. Iran denies the allegations.
US Surge likely to fail say British gov. report
• AFPThe US "surge" of troops in Iraq is likely to fail, a British parliamentary committee said Monday as it delivered a critical report on London's foreign policy in the Middle East.
After Iraq: Guardsman finds it hard to put horrors behind him
• Omaha World Heraldhen Joel Hestermann returned after a year in Iraq, counselors at the Army's Camp Shelby, Miss., warned him to get help. They told Hestermann that he had gone through too much combat to step straight back into civilian life. They also wanted
EFPs are Made in Iraq by Iraqis
• AntiWar blogDick Cheney is trying to start a war with Iran and since the president has admitted that Iran does not have a nuclear weapons program, the War Party has had to switch gears. Now the excuse for bombing Iran is that they are bombing our guys in Iraq.
Cheney: Invasion of Iraq Would Lead to ‘Quagmire’
• AntiWar blogA video has surfaced of Dick Cheney predicting an invasion of Iraq would lead to a “quagmire.” In 1994, Cheney explained his reasons for not advocating an invasion of Iraq following the first gulf war:
Watch Streaming Broadcast Live:
LRN.fm
DLive
Live Chat
Telegram
Telegram
