AP is reporting that two US soldiers have been charged with the premeditated murder of three Iraqis in the village Iskandariyah. The American soldiers are accused of killing three Iraqis in separate incidents, then planting weapons on the victims' remains sometime between April and June of this year.
Perhaps the only silver lining in this tragic scenario is that these crimes were brought to light by some anonymous courageous US soldiers, demonstrating that despite the fact that the war has turned many GIs into sociopaths, many others have been able to maintain the compassion and sanity.
Since it has been a few weeks since I have written at length about the consequences of the tragic occupation of Iraq - both for US soldiers and their families as well as civilians who haven't fled their homeland - I guess this is as good of a time as any to give a semi-comprehensive update for my readers. For starters, be sure to check out this post from blogger Chris Floyd, which discusses the recent American "massacre" at al-Khalis, in which residents of the village claim US soldiers killed 11 Iraqi "village guards" who were cooperating with Coalition forces.
Spokesmen for the US command say that it was al-Qaeda terrorists who were the victims; this all-too-typical situation with radically conflicting statements (see this tragic example in Afghanistan) was as usual resolved by the other news agencies in favor of the Pentagon, uncritically taking the latter's account as the gospel truth. Once again demonstrating that the BBC is a far superior news agency than anything we have in this country, to its credit the Beeb actually independently investigated and reported on the villagers' claims. (For more analysis on Bush's "al-Qaeda in Iraq" propaganda, see this excellent Glenn Greenwald post here and this McClatchy's article)
*AP reports that early Saturday morning, US forces raided into Shiite Sadr City, "presumably challenging Mahdi Army commanders." They killed 26 in the course of the action. The Mahdi Army is loyal to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, who calls for a quick US withdrawal from Iraq.
*Editor & Publisher discusses the Bushies' new propaganda tactic of using the term "al-Qaeda" as a means of describing the guerrilla movement among Sunni Arabs in Iraq, even though experts of the insurgency argue that the resistence is mainly comprised of local, homegrown fighters rather than foreign-born Sunni al-Qaeda Jihadists. In fact, as this report from CNN earlier this month points out, US forces have been arming nationalist guerrillas and former Saddam Hussein loyalists -- and coordinating tactics -- in a marriage of convenience against al Qaeda radicals in one of Iraq's most violent provinces.
*McClatchy's Washington Bureau (which provides what is probably the most authoritative coverage of the occupation of any of the large wire services) reports that on Thursday (6/28) in the city of Baghdad alone, 25 civilians were killed and 40 injured in a parked car bomb explosion; 12 civilians were wounded by the explosion of a mortar shell, two car bombs killed at least two Iraqi civilians; at least, 4 people were killed and 10 wounded in a parked car bomb; a road side bomb exploded near Al Tobchi not far from Ibn Haian bridge targeting a U.S. military convoy - injuring two Iraqi civilians.
Additionally, a road side bomb exploded in Bayaa targeting a U.S. military convoy. 2 Iraqi civilians were injured; One civilian was killed and 1 was injured when gunmen in a speeding car started shooting randomly at people in Amil neighborhood; and an IED exploded in Doura neighborhood, injuring 3 civilians.
The previous day (Wednesday, 6/27), at least 60 Iraqis were killed, including 14 in a late-night car bombing near a Shiite shrine in the capital.
Another great source of news/links is IraqSlogger, which describes in excruciating detail some of the other "developments" throughout the country yesterday (Friday):
Baghdad - Fifteen bodies shot execution style were found in different parts of the capital over the last 24 hours, police said. Five of them were found in the Karkh sector of western Baghdad (two in Saidiya, one in Dora, and one in Shu’la), and two others were found in the Rusafa sector of eastern Baghdad (one in Baghdad Al-Jedida and another in Jisr Diyala).
In Baghdad – Four people were killed in an overnight mortar attack on the Fadhl district of central Baghdad and 10 others were wounded in four other mortar strikes in different parts of the city, an Interior Ministry spokesman said. Seven mortar rounds hit the fortified Green Zone in central Baghdad on Friday afternoon, police said. Eyewitnesses said they heard several powerful blasts and warning sirens and they saw smoke billows rising from different parts of the area, which houses Iraqi government buildings, as well as U.S. and British embassies and the residences of Iraqi politicians.
Additionally, gunmen killed a man and three women in the Saidiya district of southern Baghdad on Friday, according to residents; U.S. troops killed one person in the Rashad district of eastern Baghdad on Friday, police said. No details were given on the incident; Five U.S. soldiers were killed and seven wounded on Thursday night in a roadside bomb attack on their patrol followed by clashes with insurgents in southern Baghdad, the U.S. military said.
In Baquba – Iraqi security forces detained 22 suspected insurgents and discovered 20 buildings rigged with explosives during security operations in Ba’quba (57 km north east of Baghdad) on Friday, a security source said. The source said several mistakes were made during the operation when U.S. helicopters mistakenly bombed several houses in the city.
In Khalis – The mayor of Khalis said dozens of suspected Al-Qaeda militants have been deployed in areas north of Khalis in preparation to attack the town after they fled Ba’quba because of an ongoing security operation, adding that residents were told to protect themselves because there was no Iraqi security presence in the area.
In Khalis – Gunmen roaming the streets of Khalis killed a man and wounded his wife on Friday. Gunmen also killed two ice cube vendors in the nearby village of Khuwaylis, police said.
In Muqdadiah– Militants in several vehicles planted explosives inside the Rahman mosque and detonated it following Friday prayers in Muqdadiya north east of Baghdad, residents said.
In Haswa – Militants blew up a pipeline supplying fuel to a power station in Baghdad on Friday near Hawsa (50 km south of Baghdad), police said.
In Mishada – A suicide truck bomber blew up a train station near a police checkpoint in the town of Mishahda north of Baghdad on Friday, killing eight people, including six soldiers, and wounding five others, police said.
In Balad – The Iraqi army found three bodies shot execution style on the main road between Balad and Dujail (80 km north of Baghdad) on Friday, police said.
In Tikrit - Three people were seriously wounded in a roadside bomb explosion in Tikrit (175 km north of Baghdad) on Friday, police said.
In Mosul – Gunmen killed three women in two separate incidents in Mosul on Friday, police said; One insurgent was killed and two were detained in Mosul following a clash with police, the police said.
In Tal Afar– Gunmen killed two policemen and two soldiers and wounded nine others in an attack with roadside bombs and small arms fire in Tala’far west of Mosul on Thursday evening, police said.
In Kirkuk - One policeman was killed and two others wounded when gunmen opened fire on them in three separate attacks in Kirkuk (250 km north of Baghdad) on Friday, police said.
In Taza – Police killed a suspected militant and detained six others during a raid in Taza south of Kirkuk on Thursday night, police said. A policeman was also killed in the raid.
In Tuz Khurmato – Gunmen killed a truck driver and kidnapped two others who were delivering construction material for a bridge in the Sarha village south of Tuz Khurmatu that was destroyed earlier.
In Fallujah- U.S. forces said they killed three suspected insurgents and detained 26 others during raids to the west and south of Baghdad and in Mosul (390 km north of Baghdad), the U.S. military said.
In Haqlinayh – A roadside bomb explosion targeting a U.S. military patrol damaged a Humvee vehicle in Haqlaniya near Haditha (170 km west of Ramadi) on Friday, eyewitnesses said.
In Kut - The body of a university professor shot several times in the head and the neck was found beside the river in the Azza district of Kut (170 km southeast of Baghdad), police said. The professor worked at the Baghdad University and was on a visit to his relatives in Kut on Thursday when he was abducted by gunmen in three vehicles; Ten unidentified bodies were buried in Kut on Friday after they were discovered in the Tigris River near Suwaira, police said. The bodies were all found headless and some were in military uniform, the source said. Also, one woman was wounded after a roadside bomb attack on a U.S. patrol in Kut, police said.
In Basrah – Gunmen attacked the British embassy compound in Basrah (590 km south of Baghdad) on Friday morning with small arms fire, a British military spokesman said. The source added that all three British bases in Basrah were hit with indirect fire over the last 24 hours without casualties.
Reuters reports that "The US military said it had uncovered 35 to 40 bodies in a mass grave south of Falluja, in Iraq's Sunni dominated Anbar province. [. . .] The military said the killings were relatively recent and the bodies had been bound and bore gunshot wounds." (h/t Atrios)
Via Matthew Yglesias, there is an interesting argument put forward by Steven Cook, Roy Takeyh and Suzanne Maloney in the International Herald Tribune that we don't necessarily have to fear a regional war breaking out across the Middle East if we leave Iraq (or, as I would formulate it, when our troops inevitably withdrawal). The authors makes some good points, but I still don't feel comfortable accepting the silver lining predictions.
Ace political journalist Dan Froomkin, blogging at his home perch at the Washington Post analyzes the tragic consequences of the Bushies' arrogance and delusional thinking (h/t AmericaBlog). Besides a disastrous policy (i.e. "Cut and Run"), the president is now witnessing mass defections from his formerly loyal GOP minions who are finally being forced to acknowledge our failed surge plan and the need to bring the occupation to a conclusion.
Quoting from the article:
Bush and Vice President Cheney's optimistic predictions about the Middle East in general and Iraq in particular have proved to be almost completely and consistently wrong for years now. ("Last throes," anyone?) Before the 2006 election, White House political guru Karl Rove was supremely self-assured in his public predictions of Republican victory.
White House spokesman Tony Snow recently assured the press corps that Bush had enough votes in the Senate on the immigration bill. "I'll see you at the bill signing," Bush himself told a skeptical journalist on June 11. Bush and his staff's credibility regarding statements of "fact" is a frequent subject of debate. But their track record on predictions is something else entirely. The evidence is pretty overwhelming that those predictions are unreliable.
I mention this because Bush's core argument against a troop drawdown in Iraq -- something supported by a large majority of Americans -- is basically a prediction. As he put it again yesterday: "If we withdraw before the Iraqi government can defend itself, we would yield the future of Iraq to terrorists like al Qaeda -- and we would give a green light to extremists all throughout a troubled region. The consequences for America and the Middle East would be disastrous."
But as AmericaBlog's Joe Sudbay darkly notes: "The consequences for America and the Middle East have already been disastrous because Bush was wrong. Based on Bush's track record, these latest predictions on Iraq aren't going to be accurate either."
*h/t to Professor Juan Cole, always a good source of information regarding the Iraqi occupation.
Update: And in the "don't hold your breath" department, the San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives will vote in July on legislation to withdraw almost all American troops from Iraq by April."
Update #2: Tom Engelhardt gives us Iraq by the numbers.
Update #3: A particularly tragic update, AP reports that "A suicide truck bomber blasted a Shiite town north of Baghdad on Saturday, killing more than 100 people."
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