Iraqi political progress stalled

We keep hearing about the "lull in violence" in Iraq, but really it is marginal.

Bodies show up in Baghdad on a daily basis. It does not matter, in terms of stability and security, if it is "only" 200 instead of 300. Bombings take place nearly every day. Iraqi military and police, along with U.S. troops, continue to be killed and maimed on a regular basis. This is not "normalcy". To acheive this 'reduction', the American commanders are increasingly relying on air strikes, with its attendant civilian casualties. We have also allied ourselves with "good" terrorists in our efforts "against terrorism". If Republicans knew in January that Bush's surge would merely result in 100 fewer sectarian deaths each month, would they have so fiercely supported it? Far from Bush's vision of disarming sectarian militias with the surge, instead we have allied ourselves with them.

However, the bottom line is that this alleged "improvement" in the security situation has not brought any progress in the political situation. Progress on the political front is what will allow us to leave Iraq. Bush has consistently put the cart before the horse in stressing security over political stability. When Bush proposed the surge back in January, he expected big things by now. He expected that he would be hailed as a hero and that Iraq would be stable. The year before that we heard optimistic predictions of imminent success and "victory" in an occupation that had already dragged on too long. In September we heard of isolated improvement and questionable figures showing that fewer people were being massacred in the civil war in which we serve as a referee. As Britain withdraws and the Sadrists move toward ending their self-imposed "break", we can expect further opportunities to show how "desperate" the "enemy" is in Iraq.

Air strikes cannot end an insurgency. The "enemy" shifts from month to month. Harsh security measures only serve to give the lie to "normalcy". Refugees continue to pour into the neighbouring countries. And a new war with Iraq will only destabilise the entire region. Our Arab allies know this, and are worried. Nothing Bush promised them has come to pass. Their insecurity has only increased, as has their costs to support masses of Iraqis fleeing "democracy" and "success" in their homeland. Their counsel is routinely rejected by a delusional White House. And the U.N. is getting stuck with the bill to deal with the humanitarian disaster, while the Bush Administration derides it as being ineffective and worthless.

U.S. soldier shot dead in Salahudin north of Baghdad

An American soldier was killed by small arms fire in the Salahudin province north of Baghdad, the U.S. military said on Saturday.

The attack occurred on Thursday during U.S. troops' operations in the province, the military said in a statement.

Earlier, the military said that another soldier was killed and four others were wounded in the day when an armored piercing roadside bomb, or EFP, struck their unit in southern Baghdad.

EFP, first developed during World War II, is a special type of shaped charge designed to penetrate armor effectively.

The names of deceased soldiers are being withheld pending notification of relatives, the statements said.

The latest death brings the number of U.S. soldiers who have been killed in Iraq to more than 3,835 since the outbreak of the Iraq war in 2003, according to media count based on Pentagon figures.

Source: Xinhua

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Four people killed in two bomb explosion in Baghdad

Two roadside bombs detonated coordinately in a parking lot in a southeastern Baghdad suburb on Wednesday, killing at least four people and wounding 25 others, a police and witness sources said.

The two blasts occurred in the morning. into a busy parking lot in the Jesr Diyala suburb, killing at least four people and wounding 25 others, including women and children, a well-informed police source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

However, a witness at the scene told Xinhua that he saw up to 11 bodies scattered at the scene and several civilian cars and minibuses were badly charred by the blasts that detonated in a short succession.

Iraqi security forces cordoned off the scene while ambulances were evacuating the victims to nearby hospitals and fire engines were putting out fires of nearby buildings and vehicles, the police source said.

Source: Xinhua

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15 civilians killed in U.S. raid northwest of Baghdad

U.S. troops backed by aircraft raided the al-Qaida in Iraq network northwest of Baghdad on Thursday, killing 19 suspected militants and 15 civilians, including nine children, the U.S. military said on Friday.

Actin upon intelligence reports about a meeting for al-Qaida leaders in the region of Tharthar lake, U.S. surveillance confirmed activities match to the intelligence reports, prompting the troops to call in air support and conducted a strike against the target, killing four terrorists, the military said in a statement.

The troops then tracked some of those who headed to an area south of the lake. During the tracking, the troops received small arms fire, and again the troops call in air support, it said.

After securing the area, the ground forces killed 15 terrorists, it added.

However, six women and nine children were also killed in the raid, said the statement.

Two suspects were also wounded and another was detained in the attack, along with wounding a woman and three more children, the military said.

Source:Xinhua

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Baghdad

Three bodies were found in Baghdad today in the following neighborhoods (1 body in Ur, 1 body in Bayaa and 1 body in Amil).

Kirkuk

Gunmen killed Fahima Hussein Mohammed, a nurse who works in Hawija central hospital in Hawija town west of Kirkuk. Police said that the gunmen opened fire on the nurse while while she was inside her house. Fahima was injured seriously and she died while moving her to the hospital.

Two policemen were wounded when an IED exploded targeting their patrol on Kirkuk – Mosul street north of Kirkuk around 10,30 am